Lethal Outbreak
by x Bout as Stable as the Wind x
Summary: The virus is winning out, wiping out planet after planet and turning most of the infected into zombie-like monsters. The only hope for a cure lies in the ruins of a place once known as Coruscant, so a group is dispatched to return to the apocalyptic world. Led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and his partner, Anakin Skywalker, survival takes on a whole new meaning. And so does FEAR.
1. The Host

**Lethal Outbreak: Part I**

**_Nightmares of a demon named Death that plague the Chosen One, and the outbreak of a rabies-like disease that turns the infected into zombie-like monsters are suddenly connected in the galaxy-wide apocalypse that suddenly renders all worlds but Naboo wasteland. A tactical team named the Colony, led by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, must return to the ruins of Coruscant to find a cure. Who will survive... if any?_**

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><p>Chapter 1: The Host<p>

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><p><strong>DATE: 506/45876**

_Jason Dean speaking._

_This is log entry #1. As I said before, I am Jedi Knight Jason Dean of the Galactic Republic, and my current position is Standards Hospital, Coruscant. Ten o'clock at night. I don't have a camcorder or anything, so I'm using my old comlink. Hopefully, these logs can be turned into messages or transmissions if needed. If we don't return to Naboo alive, that is, you'll at least know what happened to us._

_I can't sleep, and I'm on watch, so I thought I'd start these logs. Me and a small group of people have traveled back to Coruscant to try and find a cure for a deadly virus that has nearly wiped out the galaxy. The __**entire **__galaxy. Seems impossible, but it's happened. None of us is sure how…_

_Well. Maybe one of us._

_Anakin Skywalker, my young friend, is here with us, along with his mentor, Obi-Wan. Maybe we could've avoided all this suffering and pain if we had just listened to him when he said he was having premonitions of an apocalypse. Maybe if __**I**__ had listened, we could've stopped the virus from mutating and spreading. Maybe Coruscant wouldn't have been destroyed, as were all the other planets soon after. Only Naboo is unaffected now, and that's where the few survivors are staying, hoping that we'll return with a cure._

_Coruscant is a dead wasteland now, inhabited only by my team and the infected mutants that were transformed into monsters by the virus. It's a horror film. A nightmare. And this is what we have to live in now._

_Anakin thinks the virus has something to do with a ghost in his dreams, a demon named Death. If that's true, we're in __**way **__over our heads. And even if Death isn't involved, we're in enough trouble as it is._

_If I told you the whole story in this one entry, we'd be here a very long time. And time is something I don't have right now, because I think we have company._

_Yes, I can hear noises outside. The barriers are being compromised. "Anakin, guys, wake up! I can hear them! They're trying to break down the walls! Secure positions, now!"_

_I'll let you find out for yourself the story of Death, the virus, the Colony, and everything else that has transpired; but I'm gonna warn you now: not everyone has a happy ending._

_"__Holy Force, they've broken through! Shoot, shoot! Force-damn it, shoot them in the head! No…!"_

_/..:::SYSTEM MESSAGE:::TRANSMISSION FAILED:::SYSTEM FAILURE:::../_

**xXx DATE: 12/01/45875 (Six Months Earlier) xXx**

"No!"

Gasping and panting, Anakin Skywalker sat up quickly, looking around with panicked eyes. He expected to find the terrified screams and the battered bodies that haunted his nightmares; but instead, his eyes only laid upon the quiet darkness of his bedroom, the moonlight shedding a soft glow through the window.

Finally deciding that his fear was only a result of a dream, the twenty-year-old Jedi Knight began to breathe easier, positioning himself on his bed so that he was leaning against the wall, legs crossed, eyes closed, trying to regain control of his spinning emotions. Quickly slipping into the comfort of the Force, he focused his sudden rush of adrenaline on simply breathing. In and out. In and out. He felt the tension slowly ebb away.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and gazed to his left. Across the room, behind a partially-drawn room divider (made of a black curtain), Ahsoka Tano was fast asleep, the small Togruta's steady breathing visible from the rise and fall of her sheets. Not wanting to disturb her, he slipped on his light black sleep shirt before pulling on his boots and tiptoeing out of the apartment he shared with her.

It was one o'clock in the morning, and the Jedi Temple was still and silent, everyone either asleep or in quiet meditation. Instinctively, Anakin found himself roaming the vast Room of a Thousand Fountains, wandering through the gardens before finally sitting on the border of a small white fountain, listening to the steady trickling of water and trying to quiet his screaming mind.

"Anakin, is that you?"

Startled, the Knight spun around to see the bleary-eyed expression of his own Master, staring at him with concern. "You shouldn't be up at this hour," Obi-Wan Kenobi continued, walking over and taking a seat near his former Padawan. "What's on your mind, young one?"

"Nothing. I'm fine, just couldn't sleep." _Not a full lie there… well, maybe_. Anakin turned away, not looking the older man in the eye.

It was enough of a sign for Obi-Wan to push further. "Anakin, what is it? I can sense something is bothering you."

"It was just a nightmare," he finally admitted, staring at the floor. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Obi-Wan grimaced, remembering clearly years ago, when a certain Padawan had occasionally come screaming or crying to his bed because of similar nightmares. He quickly pushed the bleak memories away, and tried offering his not-apprentice-but-now-partner a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you're right. Do you want to talk about it?" He was pretty sure what the answer would be, but asked anyway.

Just as he thought, Anakin shook his head. "No. It's fine – I'm already forgetting about it."

It was another lie, and both of them knew it.

It wasn't that he wanted to deceive his old Master, just that he didn't want to drag him into problems he was sure he could handle himself. So instead of adding more to the lie or denying anything, Anakin merely stared at the fountain ahead, focusing on watching the cool water trickle down the stone stairs before becoming a soothing whirlpool at the bottom…

He was brought back to reality by the sensation of Obi-Wan's firm but gentle palm being laid on his shoulder, the Master squeezing it gently. "I'm sure these will pass in time," he said in that low, comforting tone that Anakin was so familiar with.

Anakin clearly remembered when he had been a small child, curled up in Obi-Wan's arms, a stranger among the rest of the Jedi Order. He wasn't too fond of those memories – not because of Obi-Wan being so caring, but because it made him feel ashamed and childish. He was twenty now, an adult. He didn't need Obi-Wan to hold him as he cried; but it was still nice to know the other man cared. "Thanks for that," he whispered, returning Obi-Wan's smile.

Obi-Wan pat him on the back, knowing clearly about Anakin's pride. A pat and a few soothing words were all he could offer the young man without stinging his dignity. "Why don't you head back to bed, okay?" As if to back up this suggestion, the Jedi muffled a yawn, smothering it with his palm.

Anakin nodded silently, getting to his feet reluctantly, the memory of the nightmare still lingering in his mind. Obi-Wan noticed his hesitation, and after thinking for a moment, offered, "Would you like to come into my apartment for a while? I could use the company."

It wasn't Obi-Wan suggesting Anakin was weak, or in need of being held like a child – simply Obi-Wan being a friend, and after considering the idea, Anakin gave in with a weary sigh. "Yeah, sure. Thanks." Quickly, he also added, "I wouldn't want to wake Ahsoka by going back to my own dorm anyway."

The two partners made their way back to Kenobi's apartment, the same one Anakin had shared with him before becoming a Knight and receiving his own apprentice. He hadn't been here in quite some time he realized as Obi-Wan punched in the entry code and stepped aside to allow Anakin through first.

The décor of the room had "Obi-Wan" written all over it. Neat and tidy, with books lined on shelves and one or two houseplants adding a splash of color to the dull gray walls. Anakin compared the orderliness to his own messy apartment, and smirked. "This place hasn't changed at all, do you know that?"

"If you mean it's still as clean as it was the day you moved out, then I'm proud to say yes, it hasn't changed. In fact, your bedroom is still there. You're welcome to stay the night if you'd like."

Anakin had the nagging suspicion this was his mentor's plan all along, and chuckled. "I told you the nightmare's gone already, Master. I'm fine." _Great. Another lie._

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, not to be fooled. "If you say so. The invitation still stands." He yawned again, and rose both arms above his head, stretching. "I'm going to bed. Stay, don't stay, but I'm tired." He didn't wait for a reply – simply walked to his own bedroom, stepped inside, and shut the door.

It wasn't rude of him – Anakin and he were close enough so that they could act as casual as they wanted around each other. In fact, if a stranger saw the two and didn't know they were Jedi, they could've assumed the two were brothers, they were certainly bonded close enough to be related.

But there were some things Anakin just couldn't share with his friend, no matter how strong their bond was. For one, the details of his nightmare, because he couldn't even fully understand what it was about. He remembered a scream, and then a blazing fire which burned hundreds of terrified faces. More screams, and then the appearance of a woman, pure white skin, cracked, with eyes three times to small, crying tears of blood. She was a demon, her name was Death, and she would taunt him, sing a crooked parody, mock him. "You can't stop me," she would say. "I'm coming, and there's nothing anyone can do. Not even the Chosen One…"

Anakin shook his head, a shiver running up his spine. _Maybe I __**will**_ _stay the night. Just this once_. Shaking his head slowly to himself, he entered his old bedroom and locked the door.

**xXx (Several Hours Later) xXx**

"Master! Master, wake up! Master!"

Anakin opened his eyes, stifling a groan as the female voice continued shouting from the outside his bedroom. That same person was banging bloody murder on the door, and continued to do so until he finally stumbled out of bed and opened it to find his Padawan staring at him, wide-eyed.

"Ahsoka, what are you doing?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to get his body fully awake.

"Master Obi-Wan sent me to wake you. There's an emergency involving the Senate," Ahsoka explained quickly. "We have to meet him there now."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. C'mon, he's waiting!"

As Anakin followed his sixteen-year-old apprentice through the halls of the Temple and towards the hangar, his mind buzzed with possible scenarios of the before-mentioned emergency. "Ahsoka, don't you know **_anything_**? What happened?"

"Someone psychopath I think," Ahsoka replied as they burst into the Temple hangar. "I'm not sure – we're just supposed to get there as fast as possible. Master Kenobi commed me and told me to wake you up. You were in his apartment?"

As they jumped into the first speeder they could find, Anakin felt his cheeks flare up. "Um… yeah. We were up pretty late talking, and then he suggested I just stay there so I don't wake you up." He shut up completely about his nightmare.

If she was judging him, she sure didn't show it. Instead, she tossed him the key, which she found in the glove's compartment. "Okay, then. Fly, Skyguy!"

Anakin already had the engines running, and in seconds their speeder was out of the hangar and flying through the air lanes of Coruscant towards the nearby Senate building. He pressured his apprentice for more information, but Ahsoka was truly as in the dark as he was.

When they finally found a place to park the speeder, there were over a dozen police transports outside the Senate building, along with two speeders Anakin recognized as Obi-Wan's and the other belonging to Mace Windu.

The Knight and his Togruta Padawan met up with the two other Jedi on the outside landing pad. "What's going on?" was the first thing out of Anakin's mouth as he looked around, totally confused.

"There seems to be an insane mental patient within," Obi-Wan replied quickly, rubbing furiously at his beard. "Someone suffering from dementia, or perhaps an escaped patient. We have men checking for any missing person's reports now."

"Is he holding any hostages?" Anakin's felt his chest flutter as he asked that question, his mind immediately wandering to the image of a particular senator he had in mind.

"Luckily, no. We think we've got everyone out," dark-skinned Mace Windu replied, solemn as always. "It's getting **_him_** out that's the problem."

Knowing everyone was safe, including the 'particular senator', Anakin managed a shaky smirk in the direction of his partner. "Has the Negotiator tried **_negotiating_** yet?"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes; the sardonic display just another sign of how worrisome the situation was. It wasn't a battle, it wasn't in the middle of a warzone; but it was **_something_**. The ringing in the Force told everyone so. "Of course, Anakin, we've tried everything. We're going to have to force him out of there."

"Ah, and you called me because I'm so good at forcing people into submission?"

"No." Obi-Wan's voice grew more severe and firmer. "I need you to be serious, Anakin. Something strange is going on – I can sense it. I have a bad feeling about this situation. **_That_** is why I summoned you, not to joke around."

That shut his former apprentice up.

This time, it was Ahsoka who spoke. "We'll do whatever we can, Masters," she said firmly, tossing her Master a look that read _Look how much more cooperative __**I**__ can be_, before going back to looking at Kenobi. "What do you need us to do?"

"You two and Kenobi are going to go inside," Mace answered grimly. "We'll send you in with a squad of troopers. Hopefully, you can subdue him without any real violence. He's armed and dangerous – we believe he may have several explosives attached to him. That's why the police called the Jedi – they aren't prepared for terrorist attacks like this out of the blue. I'll be waiting out here with reinforcements. Just comm if something happens."

Obi-Wan pointed to an awaiting dozen clone troopers that stood at attention to their right. "Captain Marks is going in with us, along with his men."

Anakin nodded, all serious now. "Okay then. What are we waiting for?"

The clones directly behind them, the three Jedi cautiously approached the large doors that led into the massive building. All the entrances and exits had been sealed closed, but now several police droids deactivated the ray shields for them to go through.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Anakin whispered, just loud enough so that his partner could hear him, who was standing by his side.

Obi-Wan nodded. "I didn't want to snap at you; but I am worried about this situation here. Remember that this man is armed and very dangerous."

"We've handled worse situations. Like Sith, for instance."

"Either way, be careful. You too, Ahsoka." Obi-Wan raised his voice so that the Togruta Padawan could hear the last addition.

Ahsoka responded with a sharp nod. "Of course, Master."

/Ray shields lowered./ one police droid told them, pointing to the closest entry point. /Good luck./

Captain Marks entered first, using a special device to sweep for any booby-traps or explosives. Finding none, the Jedi trailed in after him, their lightsabers already activate.

"Be wary," Obi-Wan murmured, scanning the area and honing into his excellent tracking skills for any sign of their target. "Remember that we are trying to catch this man **_alive_** if possible. More than likely he's an escaped mental patient and not in his right mind."

"Don't worry, General," one clone replied. "We know what to do."

Anakin matched his mentor's strides so that they were walking side-by-side, with Ahsoka and the clones behind him. "Any idea where he could be hiding?" he asked quietly. The Senate building was huge, with numerous hiding places.

"I… I'm trying to sense him through the Force, but I can't seem to be able to," Obi-Wan said. "It's curious – it's as if he didn't have a signature at all."

"That's impossible."

"I know but still… you try. Perhaps you can find something I'm missing."

Obediently, Anakin honed into his special connection with the Force, using the unique bond he had with the living energy ever since he was born. To his chagrin, he too couldn't sense the target. "Okay, that **_is_**strange."

Obi-Wan nodded grimly, and then held his right hand in the air, motioning for them all to stop moving and wait a moment. That's when the others heard it – the faint sound of running footsteps above them. "He's on the next floor," Obi-Wan whispered, pointing up.

"Ahsoka and I will take the stairs ahead, and you can take the clones down the hall, and use the stairwell over there. We'll trap him," Anakin suggested, his voice just as low as his partner's.

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, and Anakin led his Padawan ahead while the rest of the group doubled back, retracing their steps.

"I can't sense him, Master," Ahsoka commented as Anakin opened the metal doors leading to the staircase. "It's so strange. He's here, but…"

"I know, Snips," Anakin told her, leading them up the steps one at a time. "Something **_is_** wrong here, but we have to stay focused. Remember, do not engage him recklessly. He's dangerous."

"You don't have to worry about me, Master."

They reached the door that led into the second floor, and Anakin gripped his lightsaber tighter, tensing clearly as he slowly pushed it open.

It was completely dark except for the deep red glow given off from the emergency lights. Anakin stepped into the hall first, making sure to stay ahead of Ahsoka in a protective manner. They could clearly hear footsteps coming from up ahead, and the team slowly and cautiously began to move forward, being as quiet as humanly possible.

_"__Master,"_ Ahsoka whispered, not speaking out loud but using the Force to communicate. She wasn't too experienced in this form of transfer but found it safer than making any noise. _"Master, I have a really bad feeling about this."_

_"__Don't worry, Snips,"_ he answered her, also using Force communication. _"It'll be okay."_

There was a crashing noise from one of the rooms to the left, and Anakin stopped, holding out his arm and making Ahsoka pause as well. _"He's in the left room all the way down the hall. Stay here."_

Immediately, Ahsoka shot him a look to kill. _"There is no way I'm doing that, Master."_

_"__I need you to make sure he doesn't run out here and get away, Snips."_

_"__I'm going with you."_

There wasn't time to argue, and Ahsoka could be just as stubborn as he was sometimes. So reluctantly he motioned for her to follow him, and the two approached the door, where the sounds of heavy pacing and harsh breathing could be heard clearly now.

Just before they reached the doorway Anakin honed into the Force, but instead of entering his training bond with Ahsoka, he contacted his old Master. _"Obi-Wan, we've found him on the second floor, last door to the left."_

Obi-Wan's voice came only seconds later. _"Anakin, wait for me. Do not approach him, do you understand?"_

_"__Too late, Master."_

It **_was_** too late, because just as Obi-Wan's order came through, Anakin and Ahsoka stepped into the room.

The man they were tracking looked like a living nightmare. A walking corpse. Covered from head to toe in black grime and dry blood. His hair was a tangled web, and his eyes were unfocused and glazed over. He seemed to be mid-aged, but it was hard to tell because of the layer of filth that covered him.

Worse. There were several bombs strapped around his waist.

"Holy Force," Ahsoka breathed, gaping at him.

The man looked up at the Jedi and backed up against the far wall, a look of pure insanity plastered to his face. "Get away, Jedi!" he screamed. "Get away from here! Go! Run while you still can!"

Anakin could hear Obi-Wan's voice once again fill his mind. _"Anakin, we're trapped on the stairwell! The door is rigged with explosives, and we highly believe our target has more. Do not engage him! Anakin, do you understand?"_

Instead of acknowledging his partner's order, Anakin turned his attention to the target. "Sir, we're here to help you," he said slowly, taking a cautious step forward. "I don't want to hurt you. No one is going to hurt you if you…"

"You can't help me! No one can! Don't you see? I'm a host! I'm the host! I'm **_her_** host!"

_Host?_ "Sir, I don't understand, but if you'll calm down…"

"Get away!" he cried out again, violently shaking his head. "She's already tainted me. I'm already a host! She's spreading it, spreading it everywhere! Everyone will be hosts! Everyone!"

"Master…" For the first time, Ahsoka's voice held a hint of fear.

The man put a hand on the belt holding the rigged explosives. "Everyone will be hosts! Everyone! **_Everyone_**!"

The warning in the Force slammed the two Jedi, and Anakin spun around, shoving Ahsoka to the side. "Run! Run, Ahsoka!"

Both of them broke into a sprint just as the man pressed the detonator, the bombs exploded, and everything went up in flames.


	2. Autopsy

Chapter 2: Autopsy

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><p>The heat was unbearable. Scorching his bare skin, singing his hair and his clothing. He could smell smoke, gas, and burned flesh.<p>

_Oh Force, this can't be good_. Wincing, Anakin forced his eyes open, immediately regretting the decision. His eyeballs burned with the intense heat, and he let his eyelids slide close again, exhaling shakily, which turned into a painful cough. He could feel a heavy weight across his lower back – no doubt a fallen beam or part of the wall that had collapsed because of the suicide bomber.

"Ahsoka." He wanted to yell, but his voice came out a dry gasp. He swallowed hard, coughing again before managing a soft shout. "Ahsoka, where are you?"

He didn't receive a reply, and that sent his anxiety soaring. Quickly, he jerked, trying to free himself from whatever was pinning him down; but a sharp pain that ran from his head down his neck made him stop and lie still, helpless.

Desperately, he honed into the Force. It was hard – the effort made his head swim and he felt the sensation to black out – but to his utter relief, he felt Ahsoka's presence nearby, unconscious but alive.

Then, he heard the familiar and comforting voice of his mentor. _"Anakin, Anakin are you okay? Anakin! Answer me!"_

_"Master."_ Even in the Force his voice sounded strained and hoarse, but he continued. _"Master, I'm here."_

_"Anakin! Hang in there, Anakin, I'm coming. We're digging through the debris now."_

_"A-Ahsoka. You have to get her out first."_

_"Anakin, I can feel her through the Force. She's alright. Just hang in there and try to keep yourself calm."_

He felt lightheaded, nauseous, and dizzy – he knew he was about to black out. _"Master."_

_"Anakin? Anakin, hang in there!"_

_"Master, I-I…"_

_"Anakin? Anakin, answer me…"_

Anakin struggled in the fight to stay awake for only seconds more before he let his mind go blank, and he slipped into sweet unconsciousness.

**xXx (Two Days Later) xXx**

Forty-eight hours. That's how long he was told he had been completely knocked out, unconscious in the Halls of Healing with several fractured ribs, a concussion, and several other more minor injuries. His Padawan was in the next room, with less severe wounds, thank the Force.

As soon as he was strong enough to have visitors, Obi-Wan was at his side, as he always was. The older man was used to standing vigil at his former protégé's side in med-bays and the Halls, and Anakin was always grateful to see him.

As usual, Obi-Wan began his "glad you're alive" speech with a lecture. "I told you not to engage him. Not to approach him. And you flat out disobeyed me, Anakin. When are you going to learn you can't take risks like that? You could've been killed!"

Anakin had heard these same words thousands of times before, and replied the same as he always had over the past decade. "I'm sorry, Master. It won't happen again."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow in a way that read _yeah right_, and then sighed heavily. "You're a lucky fool, you know that? Stupid, disobedient, and Force-damn lucky."

That statement caught Anakin's attention, and the Knight made a move to sit up straighter in his hospital bed. Obi-Wan was definitely serious whenever the Master used vulgar language, and he frowned. "Master, what's wrong?"

"What do you think, Anakin? You put yourself in needless risk and nearly got yourself killed, as well as Ahsoka."

That sent a pang of guilt soaring through the younger man. "Master Che said she was okay. She's okay, right Master?"

The bearded Jedi nodded slowly, putting a hand to his forehead. "Don't worry, Anakin, none of the injuries she sustained were serious. You caught the worst of it, I'm afraid. You're going to have to stay here for several more days."

Anakin felt his face contort into both a look of defiance and disbelief – a look Obi-Wan **_hated_**. "I can't do that, Obi-Wan, and you know that."

"You have a **_concussion_**, Anakin. Even **_you_** have to see that getting your brain bruised up inside that thick headed skull of yours is something worth staying in the Halls for."

Anakin released a half-smirk, cocking his head. "My 'thick headed skull' along with it's incredible mind have saved us countless times, my dear old Master."

Anakin Skywalker could be downright exasperating; but Obi-Wan had learned that the boy's wit and charm far outweighed the frustration, and the man let out a small laugh. "I won't argue with that. But please, Anakin, try to get some rest. You were pretty banged up in that explosion."

The memory of the suicide bomber flooded back into his mind, and Anakin winced. "What exactly happened after the explosion?"

Obi-Wan began rubbing his beard thoughtfully, an old habit of his. "Our first priority was finding you and Ahsoka and getting you both to the Temple for medical attention. After that, I returned to the Senate building and helped the police and clones search the area thoroughly. We managed to recover what was left of the bomber's body. He's on his way to Standards hospital for an autopsy."

"Anyone else hurt?"

"Thank the Force, no. Just you two." Obi-Wan managed to relax a little, and leaned back in the chair that was positioned to Anakin's right. "We still have no ID, but we'll get one eventually, from the DNA that has been sent to the labs."

Anakin thought back to that morning. "When Ahsoka and I approached him, he seemed… terrified. Of something or someone. He kept saying something over and over about being a host. He said everyone else would become one too, a host for her."

"Her?"

"We never found out who he was talking about, but it was female. That's all we know."

Obi-Wan got up from the chair, and began pacing the ground, still rubbing his facial hair with worry. "I don't like this at all. There is a dark presence in the Force, and it's making me uneasy. I think it has something to do with this bomber."

Anakin looked at his Master with a raised eyebrow. "Then you don't think he was just a demented psychopath?"

"If you mean do I think he was a crazy man, than I'm afraid the answer is no. There are no escaped mental patients from any of the hospitals on Coruscant or the nearby star systems. I think this man was afraid of something…"

"…or someone." Anakin finished the sentence for his partner, and then added, "Maybe this woman he was talking about. He was afraid, so he killed himself?"

"It's a strong possibility."

"Then why the Senate building? Why not some quiet little apartment in the Underworld, where something like this would've been a common place occurrence among the sleemos down there?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, searching the Force and trying to find a logical answer. When he opened his eyes, they seemed a bit brighter, as if he had just found an explanation. "This man was afraid of something – terrified. He said that whatever he was afraid of would end up turning everyone into these 'hosts'. Perhaps he was trying to **_help_** us. He wanted everyone to be informed of what was happening."

Anakin's face was blank. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Think about it, Anakin. What act would attract the full attention of the Jedi, the police, the media, and the Grand Army of the Republic?"

That hit home, and the younger Jedi's face lit up with sudden realization. "An attack on the Senate."

"Exactly." Quickly, Obi-Wan walked over to the door of the small room and pulled his Jedi robe off the hook attached there. "Anakin, I'm going to have to brief the Council on this new lead. Please, stay here, at least a few more days. I don't want to have to hunt you down when we have other things to worry about."

Anakin offered his Master an obedient, innocent look – all fake. "Of course, Master. Whatever you say."

Obi-Wan, as always, saw right through the bluff; but deciding this new information was the main priority at the moment, he only added a sharp "Stay put" and then exited the room.

And of course, as soon as he could sense that his friend was out of the building, Anakin was on his feet and changing into his Jedi attire, which had been sitting on the nightstand beside him, along with his lightsaber. It was only moments later when he stepped out of his hospital room and was wandering down the Halls, trying to locate his Padawan learner.

He soon found her, awake and reading quietly in her bed. As soon as he stepped through the door, though, she flung the book away and grinned at him.

"Master, you're alright!" she exclaimed, eyes shimmering.

Anakin laughed softly at her enthusiasm. "I'm perfectly fine, Snips, and I'm glad to see you are too. How are you holding up?"

At that question, Ahsoka's smile melted into a cute pout that he had witnessed time and time again. "I'm so bored here, Master. I can't stand it!"

"Really?" The Knight cocked his head, smirking. "How'd you like to break out of this joint with me?"

The grin returned. "Really?"

"Yes, really. We think we have a lead on that suicide bomber, so while Obi-Wan is briefing the Council, I think we can get out there and start some of our own investigating."

Ahsoka was already on her feet, grabbing her Jedi uniform. She turned to her Master, a sly gleam in her eye that eerily reflected the one that often shimmered in her mentor's. "I'm guessing Master Obi-Wan doesn't know we're leaving the Halls."

"No, he does not."

The Padawan slipped behind a changing screen and stripped of her hospital gown. "So, tell me about this lead you've got," she called over to him.

"We're going to head over to Standards hospital and see if the autopsy report has picked up anything interesting. An ID, hopefully."

Ahsoka stepped back into full view, dressed in her regular maroon tunic and grey leggings. "ID? Is there enough left of him **_to_** ID?"

"Obviously, from what Obi-Wan's told me. The bomb I guess was set to detonate outwards, not all around. More intricate weapons are capable of such.

The Padawan grabbed her lightsaber and her shoto from a basket near her bed, and after clipping them to her belt, crossed her arms and raised an eye marking. "So what are we waiting for?"

Anakin chuckled, and led his apprentice out of the Halls, being **_extremely_** careful to avoid Master Che and anyone else who might try to keep them inside.

As soon as they were outside, Ahsoka let out a small, triumphant shout. "Yes! We did it, Master!"

"Was there any doubt?"

Ahsoka smirked. "So, where exactly is Standards hospital?" the girl asked.

"I've been there a few times before, with Obi-Wan. It's a little bit between the Temple and the U.E.P. #5." (Underworld Entry Point #5)

The Master/Padawan team immediately located their speeder, and flew towards where the hospital was located. About halfway there, Anakin felt his comlink vibrate and beep, and grimaced. "Oh no. This **_has_** to be Obi-Wan. Master Che must know we're gone and contacted him."

Ahsoka played up a scared face. "Oh no, Master! What they gonna do with us? I've never been a fugitive before!"

Anakin gave his student a little shove before answering the call. "Skywalker here."

_'Anakin.' _Sure enough, it was Obi-Wan's booming voice that came through the speakers, followed by a torrent of complaints and reprimands.

As soon as Anakin could find a break in Obi-Wan's lecture, he spoke up. "Master, I didn't mean to upset you. But you were briefing the Council about the lead, so I thought I'd take Ahsoka and follow up on it."

_'**What**? Ahsoka's gone too?'_

_Oops_. "Yes, Master, but look – everything is under control."

He could hear his Master give a long, hard, exasperated sigh before replying, _'Fine, Anakin. We'll talk about this later. Where are you now?'_

"We're almost at Standards hospital right now. We're going to check in on the autopsy."

Another long sigh. _'Okay. Check in, and then **stay there**. I'll meet you at the hospital and then we'll continue the investigation together.'_

"Yes, Master." Then, before his partner – exaggerating partner, in Anakin's mind – could say anything else, the Knight switched the comlink off and shoved it back into his belt compartment.

Just in time. They had arrived at the hospital, which was one of the largest and best in the entire galaxy. Anakin parked the speeder outside and then took his Padawan inside, quickly finding the autopsy department in the lower levels.

They were greeted by a servant droid. /Master Jedi, how may I assist you?/

"I'm looking for the room holding an suicide bomber, a Jon Doe," Anakin explained.

/Ah yes, the bomber. I know which room he is located at. The doctor holding the autopsy is working right now. I will show you the way./

As they followed the droid down a dimly lit hallway, Ahsoka looked up at her Master. "Um, I thought they didn't have any identification. You have a name?"

Anakin chuckled. "No. Jon Doe is the nickname police and investigators call an unidentified male body. Jane Doe is for female victims."

/Here is your body./ The droid used a key card and the door to a large room slid open. There was a body under a white sheet, and a man going over several files on a computer inside. Various equipment was attached to the walls and on desks.

Anakin nodded the droid a "thank you" before entering with Ahsoka.

The man at the computer, a cream-colored Twi'lek, looked up and smiled wanly when he saw the Jedi. "Ah, you must be General Skywalker and Commander Tano. General Kenobi told me you were coming. I am Dr. Fuzio."

_Wow. Obi-Wan is quick_. "We need to know if you've found anything in the autopsy reports yet," Anakin answered. "Hopefully an ID?"

"Well, the DNA tests are far from completed," the doctor replied grimly. "As you can guess, the remains of our Jon Doe are… limited, to say the least. We are doing every scan and test available to the Republic. We have, however, found some quite peculiar things." He moved over to remove the sheet.

"Um, wait." Anakin turned to Ahsoka. "Snips, you wanna go outside for this?"

Ahsoka scowled. "Master, I'm almost seventeen. I can handle it."

"If you say so."

"If we are decided then…" Fuzio reached over and removed the sheet, revealing the scattered remnants of the suicide bomber. Parts of a few limbs, a torso, and the skull were all that were there – along with **_lots_** of blood.

Despite her previous statement, Ahsoka pulled a face and gagged. "Ew. Gross."

Anakin had been to several autopsies first as Obi-Wan's apprentice and then as a Jedi Knight; but even he grimaced. "That's disgusting."

"Indeed." The Twi'lek agreed, pointing to a piece of bone fragment. "This is our Jon Doe's spine. Notice anything different."

While Ahsoka remained at a distance, Anakin leaned in closer for a better look. "There's something different with his skeletal frame."

"Very observant, Master Skywalker. Yes, something is different about our friend's bone structure. It is almost as if he were in the middle of a metamorphosis of some sort."

"But that makes no sense." Anakin pulled back, thinking. "He was a human – I saw him. And humans don't… morph. They don't transform, and they don't go through a metamorphosis except for growth."

"Right again. This is why we are taking our time to study our scattered friend. I heard in the reports that he killed himself out of fear – I believe whatever he was afraid of was **_in him_**."

Now over her former shock and disgust, Ahsoka spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"I believe that Jon Doe here had something in him. A parasite, an illness, a disease. Something that ravaged his body and took over it, beginning a transformation that was turning his body into…"

Anakin waited for the doctor to continue, and when he didn't, said, "Into what?"

Fuzio sighed. "I do not know. It's hard enough as it is, seeing how I am working with… mush."

Anakin gave a grave nod, and then outstretched his palm, shaking the other man's hand. "Thanks for all your help, doctor. The Jedi will be in contact with you."

"Of course. I will inform you as soon as anything turns up."

Dr. Fuzio turned back to his work, and Anakin took Ahsoka out of the room.

When they were in the hall, Ahsoka turned to the Knight, frowning. "Master, I don't like how any of this feels."

Anakin agreed. "I know. I can sense a darkness in the Force, and it's surrounding this case."

"What do you suppose it means? What do we do?"

"To be honest, Ahsoka, I'm not sure. As for what we do, now we go meet up with Obi-Wan and compare notes." They began walking down the hall, and as they did, Anakin added, "This is only a piece of the puzzle, this bomber thing. Something bigger is at play here. A shadow is covering the Force, and whatever the full scheme of things is, it's not going to be good."

"But Master, can't we do anything to stop it?"

Anakin answered as how he felt through the Force and his instincts. "No, Ahsoka. We can't."


	3. Search in the Crystal City

Chapter 3: Search in the Crystal City

* * *

><p><strong>DATE: 1205/45875**

_A blaze filled with horrified faces. A petrified scream. A cackle that led to a burst of crazed laughter. Then she appeared again, in all her terrifying glory. _

_Death._

_"You can't stop me, Chosen One!" she taunted, running a hand along her tattered gray dress. "You can't stop what's meant to be."_

_The screams started up again; and mixed in were also the howls of those vicious creatures he couldn't identify. Yellow eyed monsters, they crawled on hands and knees like a human, but they were far from that. They were Death's children, not by blood but by possession, and she ordered them to attack._

_They ran at him, running on two legs now, baring their teeth, glaring at him. They jumped and sprawled through the air, screeching and screaming, terrifying, petrifying, beasts tainted to the bone with darkness…_

Anakin bolted upright in his bed, gasping for breath. This was now his tenth time he's had this same exact nightmare. Every time he closed his eyes he had the visions of Death and the creatures. And each time the same warning was screamed at him: "You can't stop me, Chosen One."

Groaning, Anakin dropped his head into his hands as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there, sweating and breathing hard. The gentle rocking of the _Resolute_ was soothing – in a way. He, Obi-Wan, and another team of Jedi were in hyperspace, flying towards the planet of Christophsis. The Council had received an anonymous tip stating that the suicide bomber that had attacked the Senate had a family on the 'Planet of Crystal Light'. Obviously, the Jedi couldn't let such a tip slide; so four Jedi had been sent to investigate.

That had been 73 hours ago, which made it five days since the bombing and five days since his nightmares had started. Relentless visions of a massive genocide plagued his mind every time he closed his eyes, and it was beginning to seriously unnerve him. Anxiously Anakin glanced around him, relieved he hadn't awoken anyone. At least he was on a bottom bunk – had he been on the top, he was sure he would've fallen and awakened the entire ship. Obi-Wan was in sweet unconsciousness above him, and across the room lay Jason Dean and Quinlan Vos.

The Knight forced himself to lay back down and **_try_** falling back to sleep. They would arrive on Christophsis tomorrow to question the Jon Doe's family. The faint hum of the engines was a bit soothing; but not enough to slow down his racing pulse.

The last time he had had these nightmares was when he was still an apprentice to Obi-Wan. The first batch had been about a giant war, and the second had been about his mother's death. Both ended up becoming premonitions, and both times, the dreams had become a terrifying reality. Anakin was haunted by the Clone War and his mother's brutal murder, mostly by the fact that he hadn't been able to stop them from occurring.

_I won't let this one become real_, he told himself sternly. _I **won't**_. If his nightmares were visions of the future, and all the destruction and death he saw in his mind were soon to become reality, he would do everything in his power to stop it. _I am the Chosen One. If I can't stop **dreams** from creating an apocalypse, how am I supposed to save the galaxy_? It was a frightening idea when he thought about how Death taunted him, mocked him for being the Chosen One. She would laugh and spit at him, and every time he tried lashing out, craving to fight her and put an end to the nightmare, she would simply dance out of reach. _Witch_. She was a demon for sure – he had no other words to describe the terror she managed to instill. Anakin Skywalker was the Hero with No Fear, and yet a figment of his deranged imagination had him shaking and wondering…

_How long will it be before these dreams become real_?

It was a question he hated asking himself, but he had to. After all, his other two premonitions had ended in disaster. What made this even worse was that he dreamt of the **_destruction of the entire galaxy_**. If that happened…

"I won't let it happen," he hissed, quietly, to himself. "I swear I won't… I swear…"

And finally, without trying, he slipped into restless slumber.

**xXx (The Next Day) xXx**

"I'm telling you this is a waste of time!" Quinlan Vos's tone was filled with irritation and exasperation and worst of all… boredom.

"We can't just let this lead go," Obi-Wan snapped at his longtime friend. He had known Quin since they had been Padawan's at the Temple, and knew exactly how exasperating the man could be. "Just try and stay calm enough for us to get some answers."

"You know, Kenobi, Quin could be right," Jason Dean spoke up, slipping into his Jedi robe. "There could be no one here."

"We have to try," was the repeated answer, this time more stern.

Jason shrugged in reply, adding a quiet, "Whatever" to his words before ending the conversation. Twenty-eight-years-old, dark haired with a few whiskers, Jason was a respected Knight at the Temple, a remarkable warrior, clever and well-liked. However, he did have his own opinions, and this was one of them. _We should be on Coruscant_, he thought to himself silently. _Not gallivanting around Christophsis looking for a dead guy's family_.

Quinlan, done arguing with Kenobi, strode over to Anakin, who was packing supplies into a small sack. He slapped the younger Jedi on the back, nearly sending him sprawling. "What's wrong with you, kid? You look almost dead."

At that, Obi-Wan turned and stared hard at his partner, for the first time noticing his unnatural silence and exhaustion. "Anakin? Are you okay?"

Anakin shifted uncomfortably, obviously displeased at having three pairs of eyes locked onto him. "I'm fine," he said quickly, going back to filling the backpack.

Quin looked like he wanted to press the issue further, but a sharp look from Obi-Wan caused him to turn around and back off. He would talk to Anakin as soon as he could catch the younger man in private – for now, they had a mission to accomplish. Soon, all four of them were packed and boarding their speeders, prepared to ride in Crystal City.

The sound of engines echoed through the hanger bay as the four speeders came to life. With Obi-Wan in the lead, the small group of Jedi made their way into Crystal City.

As soon as they arrived past the borders, it was obvious something was wrong. The city almost seemed… deserted. No one was in sight, no motion of any kind. Just silence.

"Pull over!" Obi-Wan called out to his three companions, and as soon as the engines died, he continued. "Is it just me, or is something **_very _**wrong here?"

Jason looked around, frowning. "There's no one around. I can't even **_sense_** a life form within a hundred miles."

"Crystal City is the capitol of Christophsis," Obi-Wan said, tone just as grim. "And on a weekday, this place should be alive and swarming. Maybe there was more in that anonymous tip then we originally thought." They waited in silence for a few moments, as if expecting a rush of people to come out of the seemingly-abandoned buildings and quench their fears. When nothing of the sort happened, Obi-Wan spoke up again. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Anakin was focusing on the Force, searching for any sign of what had happened. Jason was right – he couldn't sense a single life form anywhere in or even near the city. But there was a heavy presence, a malicious one, as if the dark side itself had swept down and caused the people to vanish. "Master, do you feel that?" he spoke up.

Obi-Wan replied with a nod. "Yes – the dark side."

At that, Quin's lightsaber came to life in a brilliant show of emerald energy. "If there's a Sith or some other living scumbag on this rock, I'll deal with it."

"Slow down," Obi-Wan scolded, frowning. "We're going to have to search the city. Quin, you and Jason search the east. Anakin and I will go to the west. We don't want to awaken any sleeping enemies, so we'll go on foot."

At that, Jason had to object. "Actually, you and Anakin both know this place better than us. Maybe Anakin can go with Quin, I'll go with you – the search will go faster."

It was a reasonable suggestion, Obi-Wan had to admit. And though he was a bit hesitant to leave his young partner with the likes of Quinlan Vos, Jason had a point. Reluctantly, he nodded. "Very well – good idea. Anakin, go with Quin. Stay together and contact us if you find anything."

"Don't worry, Obi!" Quin exclaimed, playfully punching Anakin in the arm. "We'll be alright, won't we, kid?"

"Sure." Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan, raising an eyebrow. When he saw his Master's reassuring nod, he followed Quin towards the left.

Obi-Wan then turned to Jason. The two were close friends, having known each other for many years, as they were also with Quinlan. "Well – shall we begin?"

**xXx ((Quinlan and Anakin)) xXx**

"Keep your eyes peeled," Quin instructed with exaggerated command. "Something dark is lurking around here – I can sense it. Evil creeping in every corner."

Anakin chuckled. "Seriously, how did you and Obi-Wan ever become friends? You two are nothing like each other."

Quin looked back and shot the younger Knight a huge grin. "Padawan learner Obi-Wan Kenobi needed some fun. I gave it to him."

Both of them laughed softly, lightning the mood just a bit as they checked each building they passed by.

It was only when they reached an old storage warehouse when Quin's normal smile disappeared, replaced by a worried frown. "Wait," he whispered. "Hear that?"

Anakin paused and listened. Sure enough, there were moans coming from inside. "Well," he mused. "**_Someone_** is here."

Once again, Quin's weapon came to life, and soon after came Anakin's. Whatever was inside the warehouse stopped moaning, and was quiet.

"Maybe he doesn't want company," Anakin whispered, raising an eyebrow.

Quin shoved one of his dreadlocks out of his face, and smirked. "I don't care what he wants. We're going in." Then, without further conversation, Vos sliced through the door's lock, and kicked it inward.

The metal door landed on the floor with a crashing noise, which echoed through the entire building. Anakin glared at him. "So much for trying out stealth mode," he commented.

Quin merely shrugged, and then stepped through the opening. "Stay behind me," he instructed quietly, waving his lightsaber around and using it to make the darkness visible.

Anakin glanced around, frowning. _I still can't sense anyone_. The dark side was getting stronger as they went deeper and deeper into the warehouse, dodging crates and broken pieces of machinery. The entire first floor was a mess, as if a tornado had hit it.

Suddenly, the moaning started up again, coming from the right – near a pile of old speeder parts. Quin lifted his hand and tossed Anakin a series of hand movements, signaling for them to split up and try to surround their target.

Anakin moved over to the right and moved forward slowly, clutching his lightsaber. He was only a few feet away when he caught sight of a leg, lying on the ground, the rest of the body covered by crates and oil-covered pieces of metal.

That's when it happened. The groaning person jumped up, sending fragments and boxes flying everywhere. Quin let out a quick "Look out!" before lunging forward with his lightsaber.

The target began screeching in an animal-like tone, screaming and growling. And then it bolted like a laser blast, sprinting for a door that must've led to a staircase.

"After it!" Quin shouted, already on the move.

Anakin followed without argument, trying to use the Force and pull the man back; but to both Jedis' shock, it had no effect on him.

Then, the man turned to reveal a face with bloodshot eyes, and a dirt covered face, streaked with what looked like tears of blood.

"What the Force…" Quin stopped moving, as did Anakin, and both just stood there staring at what may have once been a human but now acted and looked like a savage beast. It began growling at them, and Anakin could see that pointed fangs replaced what had once been the man's teeth. Its body was hunched over, the clothing torn, the body covered in cuts and open sores.

Anakin's mind suddenly flashed back to the appearance of the suicide bomber and week before, and realization dawned on him. _He must have the same virus that the Jon Doe had_. "Quin," he whispered, not daring to talk any louder. "I think we should back off."

Quinlan obviously disagreed, never taking his eyes off the creature. "What? Kid, we have got to find out what this thing is – it's certainly not any species I've ever seen…"

"It's a mutant." 'Mutant' was the only word he could think of at the moment. "Quin, I think that was a man, from this city. I think he's sick. The virus ravaged his body."

Quin locked onto the creature, puzzled. The mutant stared right back, baring its pointed teeth and snarling. He could see that short, black claws had grown over its fingernails, and that the rags that clothed it were the remnants of clothing. Quin's eyes widened as he realized what Anakin was suggesting. "Holy Force…"

"This entire place could be contaminated, probably from whatever disease our suicide bomber had," Anakin added, slowly beginning to back up. "Maybe that's why this city is abandoned. Look, let's go and contact Obi-Wan."

"And what about **_him_**?" Quin pointed to the creature, frowning. "If he's sick and… mutated, or whatever… we can't just leave him. We've got to find a cure for this thing."

"We will; but I think our little friend doesn't like us very much."

Indeed, the mutant began growling again, louder. It used its hand to wipe away some of the bloody tears, and Anakin noticed its limbs were longer. The creature was skinny so that its bones could be seen beneath the filthy skin – obviously, if this man had once been a civilized being, the disease had changed his skeletal system. _Just like what was happening to the Jon Doe_, he mused, heart pounding. "Quin, let's go," he repeated, moving faster now that the creature was completely focused on them. "I don't know if this disease is air-born or not. We've got to warn Obi-Wan and Jason."

Quin nodded, and the two Jedi were almost near the doorway when the creature launched itself into the air, hurling its body at them.

"Damn it, Anakin, run!"

Anakin dodged the monster with a second to spare, and then bolted out the door, not bothering to proceed with caution anymore. Quin was right next to him, and the two Knights began sprinting down the street with the mutant running after them on its two, withering legs.

"For a sick guy, he's actually quite fast!" Quin declared, pushing himself to go even faster.

Anakin activated his comm, cocking his head to see that the mutant was actually gaining on them. He put the Force into his steps as Obi-Wan's voice came through the comm. _'Anakin, what's wrong? Where are you?'_

"Master, get the ship ready!" Anakin shouted into the comlink. "Right now! We need to leave this place!"

The creature behind them let out a sickening screech, furious that it hadn't captured its prey yet. Anakin grimaced at the thought of what the mutant did to its victims once they were actually caught.

_'Anakin, what was that noise? Anakin?'_

"This city is contaminated!" Anakin replied quickly, nearly stumbling over a large crack in the street. Out of the corner of his vision he spotted movement in the buildings surrounding them, and felt panic seeping into the corner of his mind. "I can't explain now, but this is an emergency. Get Jason, and get to the ship!" A thought came to his mind, and after hesitating just a moment, added, "Obi-Wan, if you see **_anythin_**_g_ run towards you besides us, I want you to take off. Don't wait for us."

Anakin could feel Obi-Wan's shock and anxiety through the Force, buzzing like electricity. _'What are you talking about? Anakin, what is happening…?'_

"Bye, Master."

Anakin cut the transmission short just as dozens of the mutated creatures came tumbling out of the buildings and housings, all of them with red eyes and the same ravaged bone structure.

_Oh hell_. Quin reached out into the Force and tried clearing a path through the wave of monsters, but nothing happened. "They aren't affected by the Force!" he shouted, gripping his lightsaber tighter.

"Tell me something I didn't already know!" Anakin passed a mutant and cut it down, wincing as steaming red blood splattered across his tunic. "Try not to let any of them touch you! We don't know how this virus spreads!"

"Fast, that's how!" Still, Quin heeded the advice, and jumped high into the air, swinging the vibrant blade at the first monster within reach.

**xXx ((Obi-Wan and Jason)) xXx**

Jason and Obi-Wan reached the ship within moments of Anakin's transmission. As Jason tumbled into the cockpit, starting up the engines, Obi-Wan waited at the boarding ramp, looking for his two friends.

After failing to contact him via comlink, Obi-Wan switched to the bond he shared with his former apprentice, honing into the Force. _"Anakin, are you there?"_

To his relief, he got a reply. _"Master! I really can't talk right now. Are you at the ship?"_

_"Yes. Jason and I are here."_

_"Make sure you're prepared to leave as soon as we arrive. Obi-Wan, did you find anything in your search?"_

_"No. The entire place is deserted…"_

_"Not exactly."_

_"Anakin, what is it? What's wrong?"_

He waited a few seconds, and got no answer. _"Anakin, can you hear me? Anakin!"_ Still no answer. He could feel his partner and Quinlan coming closer, and was able to sense their worry – and fear. Confusion. Something was terribly wrong.

Jason came running down the ramp, panting. "Okay, the ship's ready. Where's Anakin and Quin?"

"I don't know."

At that moment, Jason squinted his eyes, and then pointed up ahead. "Isn't that them?"

Sure enough, Obi-Wan spotted two figures, carrying lightsabers, racing towards them at a remarkable speed. "Why are they running like that?" Jason murmured, staring at them. "What did they find….. holy shit!"

Just as the curse escaped Jason's lips, the citizens of Crystal City came into view behind Anakin and Quin. Obi-Wan and Jason gaped as a mob of savage, horrid mutants came racing towards them, screeching and making unidentifiable sounds and growls.

"What the hell are those things?!" Jason took a step forward, his hand reaching for the lightsaber that hung on his belt.

Quin spotted the two and the ship, and screamed, "Get on the ship! Start it up! Get on board!"

Jason waited a second, deciding whether or not to attack the creatures pursuing his companions; but then he dashed into the cockpit and ignited the engines.

"Go, Obi-Wan!" Anakin motioned for the older man to get inside the ship. "Get into the cockpit!"

Obi-Wan's azure lightsaber was already activated, but on hearing Anakin's calls, he reluctantly retreated into the ship.

Quin kicked back a mutant that tried grabbing his ankle, and then used the Force to launch himself several feet through the air. Anakin mimicked his movement, and the two crashed down inside the cargo hold of the ship.

Quin stumbled to his feet and shouted into the cockpit, "Go!"

Jason manned the thrusters, and began closing the ramp. Suddenly, three mutants jumped into the air with incredible speed, and clung to the edge of the ship, hissing and snarling.

"I'll take care of those two!" Quin declared. The rash Knight then dashed forward, and swung his lightsaber in a choppy arc, knocking off the mutants' heads while rarely missing cutting the ship's sides.

Anakin made his way over to the control panel, and slammed his fist against one of the buttons, closing and sealing the door that led into the front part of the ship.

In the cockpit, Obi-Wan programmed the hyperdrive coordinates for Coruscant, and managed to finally close the boarding ramp all the way. "Jason, activate the hyperdrive!"

Obediently, Jason pulled on the lever, and finally… they were safely in the lightspeed tunnel.

Everyone took a few moments to catch their breaths and let the reality of what had just happened sink in. After a minute or so, Obi-Wan walked over to the door that led into the cargo hold; only to find it locked. Confused, he looked through the window to see Anakin and Quin shaking their heads at him.

_"Master." _Anakin called through their Force-bond. _"We don't know how this virus spreads. Quin and I were both exposed more than you two. It's safer if we stay in here until we reach Coruscant and go into quarantine."_

Obi-Wan nodded grimly, sighing. _"What happened? What were those things, Anakin?"_

_"I'm not sure. They were the people of Christophsis, but mutated in a way. I fear it may be the same disease that our suicide bomber from the Senate had."_

_"If this is a virus, we need to warn the people of Standards hospital as well as the rest of Christophsis."_

_"I know."_

Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder and saw Jason talking to the Council via hologram, telling them that they were on their way back and that they would explain everything once they returned. Now feeling drained and completely confused, Obi-Wan leaned against the door and exhaled heavily.

_What the hell just happened_?


	4. Taking Action

Chapter 4: Taking Action

* * *

><p><strong>DATE: 507/45876**

_Jason Dean. Log entry #2. _

_I've got the comm working again, though I don't know for how long. We've managed to hold the mutants off, but at any second they could attack again. And next time, we may not be able to hold them off. We haven't had time to form a stable security system yet. This building is so big, and we have only been here a day or so, maybe more. Ax is the one who keeps track._

_Anakin and Inya are trying to get the power core up and running, so that the locking mechanisms will work, as well as the lights and such. I look at him, and I feel guilt. Overwhelming guilt. All of this disaster could've been avoided if I had just listened to him…_

_"What? I'm coming! Hang on!"_

_Obviously, they need help. I'll have to continue this later…_

_/..:::SYSTEM MESSAGE:::TRANSMISSION PAUSED:::TRANSMISSION PAUSED:::../_

**xXx DATE: 12/06/45875 (Five Months Earlier) xXx**

"Only a few more minutes 'till we reach Coruscant," Jason announced, sighing in relief.

Obi-Wan nodded, then moved out of his chair and towards the cargo hold. The door was still locked, and he peered through the window to see Quin and Anakin sleeping on the other side. He traveled through the Force to contact his former Padawan mentally. _"Anakin, are you alright?"_

Slowly, Anakin's eyes opened, and the younger Knight turned in his direction. _"Yeah, just tired."_

_"Do you feel okay?"_

_"Yes."_

That brought some relief. Obi-Wan anxiety about his friends and this mysterious virus was beginning to cloud his mind, much to his chagrin. _"We're going to head immediately to Standards hospital and get you two examined over there. It'll be safer than going directly to the Healers."_

Anakin nodded, frowning. _"Master, what if we've been infected?"_

The question tolled in the Force unanswered for several minutes before finally Obi-Wan had an answer. _"If you and Quin have this disease, I will do everything in my power to find a cure."_

_"I know you will."_

At that moment, Quinlan sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. He gave the two of them a curious look. "Why are you two staring at each other like that?"

Anakin smirked. "Force-bond chatting."

Quin crossed his arms, grinning. "Ooh! I wanna do that! Kid, read my mind."

"It doesn't work like that Quin…"

Quin knew, and the little moment of jovialness wasn't unwelcome. Obi-Wan turned away from the cargo hold and sat back down next to Jason, managing a weary smile when they dropped out of hyperspace, and Coruscant appeared before them. "I've already sent a message to Standards, saying that we're on our way there with some possibly contaminated friends of ours," Jason stated. "It's nighttime, but the hospital is open 24/7."

"Good."

Jason took a deep breath before inquiring, "Obi-Wan… what were those things chasing them?"

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "I'm not sure, Jason. Anakin won't go into details with me yet, except saying that some kind of disease has infected the entire Crystal City."

"Then those people chasing them… they were sick?"

"I'm going to assume so, yes."

Jason leaned back in his seat, deep in thought. "Wow," was all he managed to say.

"Anakin did tell me that this disease ravages the living body, turning it into a host. Then the body goes through a violent metamorphosis of some sort, suiting the virus's needs. At least, this is what he suspects."

"We'll find out soon enough. We're here."

Sure enough, Jason activated the landing gear as their shuttle began making its way down to the nearest landing pad a moment later. Standards hospital was the one of the best and largest in the entire galaxy – it was also where the Jon Doe's body was still located. The autopsy wasn't finished yet, Obi-Wan had heard.

As soon as the ship touched down, several people came running towards them, some of them wearing protective clothing, other's dressed like doctors. Several security droids were with them to, as well as a few Jedi.

_"Are we here?"_ Obi-Wan heard Anakin's voice ring through his head.

_"Yea, we're at the hospital. Some people are coming over to help get you in and then take a few tests, I guess."_

_"Okay. Did you tell the Council about what happened?"_

_"Jason explained a bit, but not much."_

_"What are you going to tell them?"_

Obi-Wan thought several moments, and then sighed. _"The truth. There's nothing else **to** say"_

The small group from the hospital knocked on the door, and then opened it up. As the doctors and scientists whisked Anakin and Quin away, the Jedi entered the ship and unlocked the door.

The faces of Windu, Shaak Ti, and Plo Koon were grim as Windu spoke up first. "Kenobi, what just happened?"

"I wish I knew, Master," Obi-Wan admitted as Jason added, "We have a lot to tell you, but most importantly, we must warn the rest of Christophsis about the disease I mentioned earlier."

"Yes, the one that you said had a horrifying toll on the living body. I was hoping you could explain further about such a virus."

"We've already contacted the Chancellor," Shaak Ti stated. "He said he'll contact the representative for Christophsis and they'll work out a quarantine program."

Obi-Wan began rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "That may not be enough. From what I saw, this virus infected all of Crystal City, turning them all into some sort of mutated creature. At least, that's what Anakin told me. I was quite a distance away."

At the mention of Skywalker, Mace's scowl deepened. "So you're taking Skywalker's account on what happened back there? Don't you think his description could be a bit exaggerated when he says mutants…"

"I saw them too," Jason interrupted. "A whole swarm of them, maybe the entire city's population, running after both Anakin and Quin."

"But were you up close?" Mace countered. "Did you see for yourself an infected, plagued creature? Or perhaps it was the villagers sick and so desperate for help that they were willing to attack the Jedi in order to get their assistance?"

"I believe Anakin's word," Obi-Wan stated firmly. "If he says that this virus is ravaging and mutating the infected then… I'll believe him."

"Be wary, Master Kenobi," Plo Koon counseled softly. "You're judgment must be faced on facts – not loyalty to your apprentice."

"You're presence is required for an immediate Council meeting," Mace told him as they turned to leave. "We will decide what to do about this 'said' epidemic."

Obi-Wan, now irritated, began following the other Masters out of the ship; but he turned back and gave Jason a worried look.

Jason noticed it a offered the man a wan smile. "Don't worry. I'll stay here and make sure they're both okay."

Grateful, Kenobi nodded before making his way back towards the Temple.

**xXx DATE: 5/07/45876 (Five Months Later) xXx**

_Jason Dean. Log entry #3._

_I remember the day of we went searching in Crystal City perfectly, as if it had been yesterday, as well as what had happened afterwards. I remember watching Obi-Wan leaving with the Council and I remember thinking one, specific thought._

**_They're not going to believe us._**

_Why would they? We were talking about **mutants**. Figments of imagination. The only way to get real proof was to go to Crystal City, and both Obi-Wan and I knew that sending someone there could be suicidal. _

_I myself hadn't seen them very well. I saw the forms of people running after Anakin and Quin, but that was it. I hadn't noticed anything peculiar except that my friends were having some difficulty defeating them or outrunning them. I didn't have hard evidence._

_Anakin and Quinlan had seen these mutants face to face, but c'mon… we're talking about the two most reckless Jedi in the entire Order. Quin's been staying in the Outer Rim for years now, and Anakin is the youngest Knight and general we have. I had the gut feeling at the time that the Council would assume they were exaggerating._

_I'm ashamed to say I had my own doubts. That's what I hate about myself – I can be easily persuaded. So when the Council kept telling me over and over that I had been imagining the monsters, I began believing their words instead of my own conscious._

_How weak we were back then. Weak and foolish. We may have been able to stop the virus if we had looked deeper for the truth, kept pressing._

_I believe now that maybe we were just too afraid of the truth to actually go and look for it…_

_/..:::SYSTEM MESSAGE:::TRANSMISSION ENDED:::TRANSMISSION ENDED:::../_

**xXx DATE: 12/06/45875 (Five Months Earlier) xXx**

/You may go in and see him now./ the medical droid told Dean as he waited in the hall.

Jason replied with a grateful smile. "Thanks." Slowly, he pushed open the doors, and smiled when he saw Anakin already off the medical cot and pulling a clean shirt over his head.

"You're leaving already?" he spoke up, causing Anakin to spin around, surprised.

"You startled me."

"Obviously."

Jason sat down on the cot as Anakin wrapped his utility belt around his waist and strapped it on. "How do you feel?"

"Tired, sore, and frustrated," the Knight replied slowly, crossing his arms. "Nothing too serious though. I was just relieved when the doctors said Quinlan and I didn't pick up any contamination. At least we're not gonna turn into those creatures from Crystal City."

"Yea, about that… Anakin, what were they really like? I didn't get a good look at them."

Anakin frowned, and sat down next to the other Jedi. "They looked like… mutated humans, really. I don't know how else to explain them. Red or yellow eyes, bloodshot, and there was blood running from them. Their bones were showing, and their skin was grayish." He paused a moment and grimaced. "I've never seen anything like that. Has the Council been informed?"

"Yes, in a way," was the quiet reply. "I'm afraid they're having a hard time believing what's happened."

"I thought they would. But they have to! If they don't shut down that city and isolate the disease, it could spread. The Jon Doe made it all the way to Coruscant!"

"Obi-Wan's reasoning with them now," Jason replied quickly. "He really is, but he didn't catch a good look at these monsters either. You and Quinlan will have to go to the Council and personally tell them about the dangers on Christophsis."

Anakin nodded slowly, staring at the ground. "That's what I'm worried about. The Council never listened to me before… why should they believe this? I don't think they consider Quin any more valuable a source than I am."

Jason placed a firm hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Don't worry. With a threat this serious, they'll have to do **_something_ **about it. Once they go there and see that the city really is infested with these things and this disease, they'll quarantine the entire thing. You and Obi-Wan have dealt with epidemics before, right?"

"The Blue Shadow Virus threat, yes, but…"

"Then my guess is that Kenobi's gonna request you and him are charged with overseeing the operation first-hand. This virus, whatever it is, won't get a chance to spread."

Anakin finally looked up, and locked eyes with the other Knight. "And if it does?"

To be honest, Jason hadn't thought that far ahead – and could only offered a feeble smile as reassurance. "Don't worry. It won't. We'll get to the bottom of this."

**xXx DATE: 12/13/45875 (Four Days Later) xXx**

_A week. It's been a week since what happened on Christophsis, and what has the Council done? Practically **nothing**. I knew this would happen! They thought Quinlan and I were exaggerating, pretty much shrugged our statement off. I wanted to go back there myself and personally wipe out every one of the mutants… but that would be suicide. Jason is on a mission in the Outer Rim, so he can't stand up for our statement. So I did the next best thing – I went to the Chancellor. He and I have been friends ever since we met over a decade ago. I thought he would support at least a local military squad to be sent over and investigate the situation._

_It happened. A team of LCS (Local Christophsis Scouters) were sent over to Crystal City, and you know what they found? Nothing. Nothing at all. Empty buildings, blood; but no mutants, no horde of demented monsters. The story out now was that the Separatists had used a chemical weapon on the citizens, making them go crazy, and then had disposed of them._

_No one believes me or Quin. No one. And I'm not ashamed to say that I hate the Council more than ever right now…_

Anakin stared at the page on his data-pad, anger and irritation pulsing off him in waves. After a while, and thinking of nothing else to type down, he shut the device off and went to pacing around the room, frustrated.

From small sofa, Ahsoka Tano looked up from her own data-pad and frowned at her Master. "What's wrong?"

Immediately he shrugged her off. "Nothing. Keep reading."

"Master." The tone she used meant that she would not back down so easily. She could be just stubborn as he – and they both knew it. "First you're over there typing so angry that I thought you'd punch a hole through you're data-pad, and now you're wearing the carpet out with your feet. What is it?"

When she received no answer, she added, "It has something to do with all those Council meetings you've been going to, doesn't it?"

Anakin sighed, putting his forehead in his palm. "Snips…"

Ahsoka got up and walked over to him, crossing her arms. "C'mon, Master, you can tell me. What's been going on with you lately? You're always at the Senate Building or with Master Kenobi or with the Council. Something's going on, and I don't like being left in the dark."

"I'm not trying to leave you in the dark, Ahsoka. I just don't want you involved in some scandal…"

"Scandal? What scandal?"

Finally he looked down at her. She was staring up at him, expression so determined that he knew he'd never win this argument. _Why does she have to be… so much like me_? "Fine."

The Padawan waited patiently, arms still crossed.

Anakin exhaled heavily and sat down on the sofa. She mimicked his movement, the pressed on. "Well?"

He hesitated a moment before saying, "There have been… issues… between me and the Council. And Master Vos. We found a threat on Christophsis, but the Council isn't taking us seriously. It doesn't help that we don't have any hard evidence either."

Ahsoka nodded, thinking hard. "The threat... what was it?"

_This is the hard part_. "Master Vos and I were paired up to search the Crystal City. At first it seemed deserted, but then…"

"**_Deserted_**? The entire city?" She couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, or that's what it seemed like. Then we searched harder, and we found something. A… creature."

She waited for more, but when none came… "Master? Are you okay?"

Anakin was staring into the distance, frowning, seeming almost unfocused.

"Master? Master, what's wrong?" She put a hand on his arm, and finally he turned to look at her, eyebrow raised.

"Huh?"

"You were telling me about some sort of creature you found on Christophsis. Was that the threat?"

He grimaced. "Pretty much. But it isn't how you would think. There was this disease, I think, and it infected everyone in the city. That creature – creature_s_, I should say – I think… I think it was a human mutant, Ahsoka. Morphed because of the virus that spread."

He didn't blame her for looking so confused and bewildered. "Master," Ahsoka said slowly. "I-I don't get it."

Anakin tried to explain better. "I have a theory – that the same virus our Jon Doe had was originally from Crystal City. The disease ravages the living body and turns it into a host…"

"Just like the suicide bomber said!"

"Exactly. And then the host is forced into a transformation to turn it into the creatures Quin and I saw."

Ahsoka's eyes were wide as she gaped at her Master. "And the Council won't do anything about this?"

Anakin shook his head, growing angrier at the Council as the conversation went on. "They don't believe me, Snips. And they don't believe Quin, either. They sent men to the city, and it was deserted. No one there."

"But those mutants things that you saw, they couldn't have just disappeared."

"I know. That's why I'm so worried." He got back up and began pacing again. "They might've died and the bodies somehow disappeared. Or they could've spread out all over Christophsis. Ahsoka, if we don't find out soon, they could infect the entire planet. All of Christophsis could face an epidemic, far worse than any other that we've ever seen because of what this disease can do."

"Can't **_you_** do something, Master?"

Anakin thought hard, running a hand through his hair. "I've considered going back there myself personally, permission from the Council or not…"

"I'd go with you!"

"No, Ahsoka."

"But…"

"**_No_**." There was no way he was letting her anywhere near those things. "It is **_far_ **too risky, Ahsoka. I'm not letting you go."

He saw that look in her eyes, the one that read _I'm going no matter what_, and scowled at her. He lowered his voice and almost growled. "No."

The Togruta twisted her lips, frustrated. "Master, I could help you. If we don't go, something terrible will happen. You said so yourself!"

She had a point – she almost always did. Anakin thought hard for several minutes, before finally turning back to her. "I'm not letting you on Christophsis…" He ignored the groan that statement brought, continuing, "But I do need your help. You said that Dr. Fuzio is still doing the autopsy? That he's managed to preserve the body or something?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Go to Standards hospital," Anakin ordered as he ran into his bedroom and grabbed a sack of supplies. "I want you to remain there, and tell him what I just told you. Tell him to look for the virus that may still be contaminating the body. I want you to stay with him and help him with the autopsy."

Thrilled to have at least _some_ task, Ahsoka got up quickly, nodding. "Should I inform the Council first?"

Anakin shook his head as he threw on his Jedi robe. "No. You're my Padawan – what I tell you to do is none of their business." He paused just a moment to stare at the girl in front of him. Ahsoka had matured much since they had first met each other – she could handle it. _She could probably handle coming with me too_, he admitted to himself. _But no_. "Be careful, Ahsoka."

The Padawan smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "I think **_I _**should be telling **_you_ **that."

He smirked at her and said bye one last time before racing out the door.

He sprinted down the halls of the Temple while activating his comm. "Hey Obi-Wan, you there?"

Moments later, his mentor's voice replied. _'Yeah. What's wrong?'_

"No time to explain really." Anakin ran into the Temple's hanger and looked around for a suitable transport. "Master, do you believe my story about those mutants?"

_'What? Anakin, I don't understand…'_

"Do you, yes or no? Answer the question!"

_'Of course I believe you, Anakin, but why are you asking me…?'_

"I'll explain when you get down here." Anakin saw the _Twilight_ and made his way over to it.

_'Get where? Anakin, what are you up to?"_

"You mean what are _we_ up to. You're coming with me. We've got to stop this thing before it gets out of hand."

_'…Anakin… You're getting yourself into trouble again, aren't you? What are you stopping?'_

"You mean _we_."

_'Fine. What are **we** stopping?'_

Anakin climbed into the Twilight, but paused just a moment to answer his partner.

"Disaster."


	5. Disaster

Chapter 5: Disaster

* * *

><p><em>"What are we stopping?"<em>

_"Disaster."_

**xXx DATE: 12/14/45875 (The Next Day) xXx**

As the _Twilight_ left the lightspeed and began making its way towards Christophsis' atmosphere, Kenobi found himself increasingly becoming and more and more doubtful of his partner's actions. It wasn't that he **_doubted_** Anakin – no, he knew him better than anyone, and knew that if Anakin did something, it was always because he had a good reason. But still… this time, Anakin was really pushing the limits. "At least let the Council know where we are," he repeated for what may have just been the hundredth time.

And like all the other times, Anakin replied, "We can't. They'll try to stop us and bring us back. And we **_need_** to do this."

It wasn't "I feel this is the right thing to do" or "This is the best thing". No, it was "We **_need_** to do this", the "need" spoken with such confidence and finality. Anakin was so determined to go and examine the Crystal City itself that Obi-Wan knew that even the Negotiator wasn't going to change his apprentice's mind. With a defeated sigh, the Master leaned back in the co-pilot's chair and crossed his arms. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I."

_Well that statement sure doesn't help_. "And do you even have a plan for when we reach the city? From the theory you've told me, this virus is highly contagious. Just stepping foot past the city borders is a deadly, possibly fatal, risk."

"Quin and I were right in the midst of those things, and we're still fine," Anakin replied. "That's one other thing we have to figure out: how it spreads."

Obi-Wan stared at his boots, exhaling slowly. "Anakin, I value what you're trying to do here, I really do; but if this thing is as big as you say it is, do you really think just two people are going to make any difference? We could go there, get infected, become one of those **_things_**, and then the galaxy will be in no better shape."

"We have to take that risk, Master…"

"I know that, Anakin, but pause and consider your odds," Obi-Wan said, almost pleading. He had served as Anakin's Master for over a decade – he knew how to get the younger man to stop and listen. "This mission could get way out of hand for just the two of us to handle."

Anakin frowned, and leaned back in the pilot's chair. "I know that. But I have to do something, **_anything_**, to stop this."

Obi-Wan glanced at him worriedly. "Anakin… does this have anything to do with your nightmares?"

At his friend's confused glance, he added, "I'm not as ignorant as you may think, Padawan. I've noticed you've been having more and not telling anyone."

Anakin sighed and lowered his head. "I don't know what they mean, Master, but… I think these mutant things are in them. At least, I keep seeing creatures that resemble them."

Obi-Wan began rubbing his beard, mind racing. It was no secret that Anakin's dreams usually ended up becoming more than anyone realized – more than once the Knight had suffered from vivid nightmares that became premonitions or visions, even as a child. "Anakin, I…"

Suddenly, the ship was filled with blinking lights, and moments later, they dropped out of hyperspace. Before them loomed Christophsis.

Immediately Anakin began pressing several mechanisms and steered the ship towards the blue/green planet. Obi-Wan remained sitting, his knowledge of flying extremely limited compared to his partner's. He did, however, manage to activate the landing gear as Anakin flew the ship as close to Crystal City as he dared, which was a mile away. As they flew overhead, he looked down through the window and frowned. "It looks like a ghost town," he remarked grimly.

In the middle of the landing, Anakin began messing with the communication control panel, so that seconds later, the hologrammic image of his Padawan appeared. "Hey, Snips," Anakin managed to greet her with a steady and calm voice. "Thought I'd check in before Obi-Wan and I start our investigation."

The Togruta smirked, and placed both hands on her hips. "Well, in the seven hours you were gone, I've been interrogated five times. The Council's really pissed that you…"

"Language, Ahsoka."

"Fine. The Council's really, really, super annoyed that you took Master Kenobi and went AWOL on them. They keep asking me where you are."

Anakin didn't know whether to feel amused or worried. "What did you tell them?"

Ahsoka winked at him via hologram. "I told them you were off saving the galaxy in some way or another. Eventually, they got so frustrated they stopped asking me."

While Anakin nodded, Obi-Wan decided to speak up. "Ahsoka, how is the autopsy going?"

"Pretty good, actually. Dr. Fuzio's been working nonstop, but then he got a headache and his assistant, Inya, told him to refresh himself. That was a half hour ago, actually, so I've been working with Inya on the autopsy. So far, we've found traces of some sort of virus, but it's nothing identifiable. We can't even compare it to any known disease – the matrix and the system of the bacteria is just so complex. We have been able to confirm that whatever 'germ' did this, it did it by attaching itself to the cells of the body and 'rewriting' the DNA and everything. It's just so bizarre, Master."

"Okay, Ahsoka, keep up the good work." They were almost on the ground. "Obi-Wan or I will contact you if anything happens here, okay?"

"Sure thing, Skyguy." Before the conversation could end, though, the girl allowed a small, worried look at the two Jedi. "Be careful. Whatever this thing is, Master, you **_were right_**. From the looks of it, it's extremely lethal, and we have no cure at all. If this is a virus spreadable through bacteria or anything like that…"

"Don't worry, Snips, we'll be okay." Anakin shot her a half-hearted smile, and then cut the transmission… even though it was taking everything he had to try and believe those words himself.

He knew something horrifying was about to happen. He just knew it.

And he also had that sickening feeling that no matter what he did, none of it would matter, because nothing could stop was bound to happen.

The _Twilight_ landed a mile away from their target city, and as soon as the engines were cut, Anakin was out of his seat and powering up the landspeeders. Obi-Wan followed him quickly. "Slow down, Anakin," the Master spoke up as Anakin opened the ramp. "We need to do this with the upmost caution."

Anakin shot him an annoyed glance as he began pulling the speeders down the ramp and out into the noon-day sun. "Master…"

"Anakin." Obi-Wan crossed his arms and used the tone he had become accustomed to as Anakin's Master. His partner exhaled sharply, frustrated.

"I'll be careful, okay?" he stated. "Can we just go?"

That was the most he would get out of the younger Knight for now. Obi-Wan knew this, and decided to stop pressing. "Yes. Let's go."

Anakin was already on his speeder. He quickly attached his comlink to the control panel, and then transferred the city's layouts to Obi-Wan's transport. "We'll go to the building Quin and I found the first mutant in," the Knight stated, starting up his engine. "We can fan out from there."

It was the only real plan they had, so Obi-Wan agreed, and the two Jedi rode their speeders into Crystal City.

The holo-vids were the understatement of the century to Obi-Wan as his eyes rested on the destruction that surrounded him. The city smelled of death and disease, rotting pools of blood everywhere, filthy handprints on glass windows, garbage everywhere. Surprisingly, there were no animals or bugs of any kind around – as if they knew to stay away.

Anakin parked his speeder in front of the abandoned warehouse and motioned for his mentor to do the same.

"This is where we found it," the Knight stated, taking the lightsaber off his belt and holding it firmly in his hands. _Just in case_, he thought grimly.

Obi-Wan mimicked his movements, and the Master shuddered as he felt a chilling presence slip through the Force. The feeling of dread. He couldn't sense any other life forms except for himself and his partner – but there was an uneasiness in the air, a feeling that made him suck in a sharp breath and tense. "Anakin…"

"I feel it too," his former Padawan said quickly. "Something's wrong." His lightsaber came alive in a show of bright energy, and the Knight moved forward with quick but cautious steps.

"Anakin, wait!" Obi-Wan hissed, keeping his voice low but urgent. The Master hurried forward and touched his partner on the shoulder. "Be patient. We need to…"

His words cut off by a loud crash; and then suddenly, a mutant came flying out of a second story window and hurled itself at the two Jedi.

"Master, move!" Anakin lunged forward and shoved Obi-Wan forward. The monster landed heavily on the stone ground, and then stumbled back onto its two crooked legs – legs which had been fractured and gashed, Obi-Wan realized. _How is he able to move when he's so injured_…?

Broken legs or not, it came sprinting at them, screeching at the top of its lungs. Its voice dipped high and low, groaning then screaming, then giving an eerie whimpering noise. Anakin was in front of his mentor a second later, and using his lightsaber, decapitated the monster the moment it was close enough to reach.

As the body crumbled to the ground, Anakin noticed with dismay that the mutant's 'calls' had attracted more of the foul creatures. They came tumbling out of doorways and windows – Obi-Wan spotted one crawling out of the sewer.

"Anakin, we need to get out of here." Obi-Wan Kenobi was never one to panic; but he was as close to frantic as one could be. He had never seen anything like this in all of his lifetime – it was eerie and blood-chilling to see men who had once been people now turned animals.

Anakin was back-to-back with his partner, and visibly tensed when he saw a dozen more of the creatures come racing at them from farther down the street. "Alright, when I say go, we make a run for the speeders. Don't look back, don't get clawed or bit. Got it?" He was letting his 'General Skywalker' instincts take over now. It was the only way to ensure he didn't let fear or panic hinder their escape.

Obi-Wan didn't object to his plan. He simply nodded his head, and after waiting a second more, Anakin hollered, "Go!" and the pair took off faster than they had ever run in their lives.

The sudden movement stunned the mutants for only about a half second before they started hunting them down, the whole time filling the air with their growls and screams. Obi-Wan winced at the sight of a small group of **_former_ **children that scrambled and clawed at his ankles – he was forced to kick them back.

They both reached the speeders, jumped on, and started up the engines. They pushed the throttle as fast as they could without breaking the engines, and sped out past city borders. Even though they were on vehicles, the screeches followed them, and when Anakin risked a glance backwards, he observed that the wave of creatures were still running and stumbling after them at a fairly quick pace.

"When we reach the ship, we can't afford any stops!" he hollered above the speeder noise. "You shut the ramp and seal any entrances while I start up the ignition and get us the hell out of here!"

Obi-Wan replied with a nod; he was focusing mainly at not crashing his bike. They were going well past any speed even Anakin had ever attempted, and he felt queasy at traveling at such a high and deadly pace. Even Anakin seemed rigid and stiff, and Obi-Wan couldn't blame him. His heart felt like it would burst out of his chest at any moment.

But the **_real_** panic set in when he squinted his eyes, staring at the horizon. He could see their ship, only a short distance away now, but about a ½ mile farther back, he could make out what looked like a stampede heading towards them. _But there's no herd animals on Christophsis, so what…_?

_No. Way._

He bit his lip, and accessed the Force so he wouldn't have to scream above the engines. _"Anakin, what's that in the distance?" _His mind started buzzing. He knew the answer – he just couldn't bring himself to acknowledge it yet.

Anakin now took notice of the queer sight. He used the Force to try to sense what they were; and then he came up with nothing, and he knew.

"Damn it!" He couldn't hold the curse in. He then switched to the Force. _"Master, I can't sense what those things are…"_

_"Me neither. And they're not machines either, or we'd still be able to tell…"_

_"Master, the virus spread."_

Those things running at them were mutants, which meant that Crystal City was not the only contaminated area. And from what Obi-Wan had seen, at the rate the virus was capable of spreading…

All of Christophsis was doomed, if not already destroyed completely.

This made surviving and getting to the ship even more important. What didn't help, though, was now Anakin couldn't hold back the panic. The virus had spread to other parts of Christophsis. Now, as they traveled further, the outlines of the mutants were clearer. Men, woman, and children, all scrambled and tripping over themselves as the ran across the horizon towards them. Faint howls could be heard over the screams of the creatures that were still following the Jedi from behind. He suddenly spotted more coming from the left and right.

They were being surrounded by a horde of hundreds.

_"Anakin."_

_"I see them, I see them!"_

_"If we slow down to park the speeders and board the ship…"_

_"We're not gonna."_

_"What?"_

_"As soon as we get to a few feet away from the ship, slam on the brakes and jump off. Use the Force so you don't have to stop, just jump and start running."_

_"Anakin…"_

_"It's the only way, Master! You're not the only one worried here!"_

He could hear the alarm in the Knight's voice, so Obi-Wan decided to not press the issue further, and to hope beyond hope Anakin had **_some_** sort of plan prepared for what lay ahead.

The creatures were closing in on them.

The ship was clearly visible now, getting closer and closer with each second. Anakin pressed some buttons, and the boarding ramp began lowering itself. _"Get ready to jump!"_

Obi-Wan tensed, forcing all thoughts out of his mind except his survival instincts, letting his emotions wash over into the Force. He could still sense Anakin struggling with his anxiety, letting it cloud his thoughts. _"Anakin, stop thinking about the 'what-ifs' and focus on the present."_

Anakin ignored the counsel, and instead laid on finger on the brakes of the speeder.

They were now 100 feet away. 70. 50. 20.

"Jump!"

What happened next could only be described as blurred chaos. Obi-Wan hit the brakes, and he felt himself get propelled through the air, tossed like a doll up and forward. He vaguely heard the sound of the two speeders crashing and exploding, but he was mainly struggling to keep his balance as he used the Force to land on his feet and immediately dash forward. He looked to his right quickly and spotted Anakin right by his side, and the two Jedi sprinted forward together, their movements synched perfectly.

The tumbled into the ship, and Obi-Wan focused on closing the ramp while Anakin flung himself into the cockpit. Obi-Wan pummeled the controls with his fist as the creatures had almost reached them. "Anakin, hurry!"

A mutant's hand clutched the ship's walls as the ramp was still closing.

Obi-Wan took out his lightsaber and sliced through bony fingers.

The engines started up, frying several of the monsters on the spot. More hands came scrabbling at the walls, struggling to get in through the last few inches of open space.

And suddenly, the ramp slammed upward, and sealed itself with a loud clang that made Obi-Wan jump. He turned to see Anakin standing behind him, hands outstretched, the Force humming around him. When he saw the opening was closed, he returned to the controls and hit the thrusters.

The _Twilight_ slowly lifted into the air, and Obi-Wan used this time to look out the windows and observe. He felt sick as he saw the hundreds of screeching, blood-thirsty animals all jumping and reaching up with claws and bloodshot eyes, all of them trying to reach the prey that was now flying out of their grasp. Anakin had a blank, void expression on his face, and when Obi-Wan finally turned away from the window to look at his companion, he grew concerned. "Anakin, are you okay?"

The younger Jedi didn't reply; but his expression grew darker as he steered the ship eastward.

Obi-Wan was about to ask "Where are you going?", but he managed to figure it out on his own. They were going to fly over some of the nearby cities, and see just how far the infection had gone. _Oh Force, please don't…_ He couldn't finish. He knew from his gut and his senses the epidemic was out of control on Christophsis.

When they passed over Genteel City, their fears were confirmed. From the air view, the deserted city looked similar to how Crystal had been, and the Jedi easily spotted a few mutants stumbling around the trash-filled streets. They went a little farther to the town of Allure, only to find the same thing.

After going over five more villages, Obi-Wan let out a dismayed sigh. "It's no use, Anakin. We can't just fly around or we won't have enough fuel to get back to Coruscant. I'll contact the Council, and you activate the hyperdrive."

The Knight had been disturbingly quiet the entire time, but he obediently turned the _Twilight_ out of the atmosphere. Obi-Wan activated the ship's comm system…and was greeted with static. He tried again, and got a /_BUSY_/ signal. _Something's wrong_. He tried again and again, but the Temple didn't answer his calls.

"What's wrong?" For the first time since Crystal City, Anakin spoke up.

Obi-Wan drummed his fingers against the dashboard, his other hand running along his beard, a sign he was anxious and nervous. "The Council isn't answering my calls. I just keep getting the busy signal."

A flicker in Anakin's eyes sparked, and quickly, the young Jedi typed several commands into his B-Wing. "Ahsoka, come in," he spoke into the microphone. Nothing. "Ahsoka, this is Anakin. Respond." Static, and then the beeping /_BUSY_/

"Damn it!" Frustrated, Anakin slammed his fist down on the kriffing panel and then leaned back in his seat. Obi-Wan could feel anger and concern coming off him in waves.

"Anakin, try to calm down." He himself was in a near-panic, but he was trying to let his emotions flow into the Force.

"Calm down?" Anakin wheeled on his old Master, eyes flashing.

_Oh no._

"How can you expect me to calm down, Master?!" The dam that had been holding his emotions in check came crashing down, nearly overwhelming the older man as Anakin began venting his frustration. "You saw it! You saw what had happened to Christophsis! And this happened in a matter of a few days! We saw over five cities, and they were all destroyed! All overrun by those monsters! And the Council and the Senate have done **_nothing_**! Nothing at all! Yet you have the kriffing nerve to tell me to calm down?!"

Obi-Wan was used to these outbursts, and did what he always did: remain silent and wait for his young partner to finish ranting so Obi-Wan could remind him about controlling emotions and keeping a cool head. But it was harder this time, because Kenobi's own fears were threatening to overtake him.

"What if this thing spreads, Master? What if every single planet turns into a wasteland just like Christophsis? This could be an apocalypse!"

Obi-Wan crossed his arms, constantly reminding himself to stay quiet and calm, and the eventually, Anakin would follow his lead and compose himself. But the word **_apocalypse_** made him tense.

"The entire galaxy is at risk of becoming one giant horde of flesh-feasting monsters! But no one would listen to us! Not even the Chancellor! The Council turned their backs, the Senate shook their heads! Everything is threatening to fall apart, and soon the entire galaxy will be no better than the damn wreckage of my dreams, the virus will spread and wipe out every single living thing and then Death will…" Suddenly, Anakin shut up, and winced visibly. _The wreckage of my dreams._ He obviously hadn't meant to say that.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened, and his silent-demeanor shattered. "Your dreams? Anakin, is this what this is all about? You dreamt about this?"

Anakin turned in his chair and crossed his arms stiffly, not looking at his mentor. Obi-Wan got up and stood next to him, frowning down at his old Padawan. "This was what your nightmares were about." No question there – just a statement of a fact.

Anakin inhaled sharply, and then nodded slowly. "The nightmares I mentioned before… I saw Christophsis, just like that. I hadn't remembered until I saw the mutants… I knew this was going to happen, Master. And I didn't do anything about it."

"You can't blame yourself for what's happened, Anakin."

"But I saw it, Master!" Anakin stood up and faced the older man – standing a good inch or so taller than him, he looked down at him with fiery but hurt eyes. "I saw the monsters, the destruction… And I kept it to myself. And now look at what's happening!" Once again, his fist came slamming down against the controls. "I could've done something!"

His former apprentice was an emotional person, blaming himself for every flaw in battle, every casualty, any loss. Obi-Wan could feel the torment inside of his friend, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. _I should have paid more attention to his nightmares. I'm the fool here_. "You had no idea this was going to happen. You can't blame yourself."

"I can and I am."

He was using that tone of voice Obi-Wan recognized as unwavering and unmoving. Anakin was going to be stubborn about this, so he moved over and sat back down.

Seven hours. That's how long it took for them to get back to Coruscant. It's also the amount of time it took for disaster to strike the heart of the galaxy, the core of the Republic.

When Anakin and Obi-Wan finally exited lightspeed, their hearts jumped into their throat as they were immediately caught in a tractor beam and forced to stop in mid-space. A large security station had been positioned around the planet, and moments later, the _Twilight_'s comm began beeping. A voice followed /This is a restricted area. State your name, ID, and business./

_Restricted_? Anakin hit the REPLY button. "This is General Anakin Skywalker of the Galactic Republic. I'm here with General Obi-Wan Kenobi. ID codes are 1914876 and 18277. What is going on?"

/We are confirming your statements. Please hold./

"Wait, don't put us on hold! I want an explanation!" Anakin shot the 'Negotiator' a look requesting help.

Obi-Wan nodded, then leaned over the microphone. "This is General Kenobi. Can you tell us what is going on at least? We were on Coruscant no less than nine hours ago. What's happened?"

A pause on the end, some mumbling, and then the droid's voice replied /You're ID's check out. A warning, Generals: This is now a highly contaminated area. Any contact with the surface will result in a high risk of being infected."

"Infected? What…" _No. No, no, no…_ This couldn't have happened! Obi-Wan looked at Anakin, and seeing the boy's pale face, he knew it **_did_ **happen. The worst, possible scenario.

The virus had hit Coruscant.


	6. First Coruscant

Chapter 6: First Coruscant

* * *

><p><em>The virus had reached Coruscant.<em>

It was the only explanation for the quarantine, the security, the feeling of pure horror that buzzed through the Force.

Anakin immediately pushed the throttle to full speed so that the _Twilight _was speeding towards Coruscant as fast as possible. Obi-Wan was still stunned at the new revelation, and could only watch as his partner slipped into near madness from panic.

When they entered the atmosphere of the magnificent planet, both Jedi's eyes widened and their blood ran ice cold.

Police hovercrafts were **_everywhere_**. It was obvious that the entire planet was in a state of horror, there was an entire line of ships struggling to get out of the atmosphere while security tried checking everyone attempting at keeping everything is some sort of the order. Flames could be seen in the Underworld. _They're trying to burn out the disease_, Obi-Wan thought grimly, taking a deep breath so that he finally found his voice. "Anakin, we have to get to the Temple."

"I know. I'm already taking us there." The younger man's voice was shaking, and Obi-Wan could sense the distress coming off him in violent waves, a tsunami crashing through the Force. "Anakin, I know how you are feeling right now, but we **_must_** remain calm if we're to stop this thing before it gets any farther."

Anakin nodded quickly. "I know, Master."

"They may have it under control."

It was a fruitless suggestion. And they both knew it.

Anakin shook his head, lowering his eyes as he gripped the steering controls. "I can't gain contact with Ahsoka or…" He wanted to say "Padme", but stopped himself. It didn't end the heavy weight that crippled his breathing or his speeding heart, though. _Oh please, let them be alright_. Obi-Wan, Padme, and Ahsoka were the three people that he had sworn to give his life for, despite the Code against attachments. _Please Force…_

"I'm sure she's alright, Anakin." Obi-Wan truly wanted to believe his own words, he wanted to **_so badly_**.

The _Twilight _flew over to where the Jedi Temple seemed to be just as bad as the rest of Coruscant. Ships were packed tightly around it, and it seemed that the main hanger had been opened as a public area to help people get off-world. Moving figures could be seen trafficking inside, and Anakin quickly found a place to land the ship. Both Jedi were out of their seats a quarter-second later.

As they burst from the ship and ran towards the Temple entrance, their quick walks turned into a desperate run. They were **_flying_** over the concrete pavement, using the Force to help aid their speed. They needed answers, explanations… Anakin wanted his Padawan, Obi-Wan wanted information.

They had been forced to park a quarter mile away, so as they ran, Obi-Wan had time to look around in disbelief. The sound of sirens and faint explosions filled the air, along with a musty, death-filled stench. _Nine hours – this all happened in nine hours!_ He paused for a split second to glance downwards to the street level, and noticed it was completely abandoned. No one was here, and Obi-Wan guessed they were all part of the mob that was either in the Temple or at one of the stations, trying to get away from the terror that must be contaminating the Underworld. That was where he assumed the virus had struck first, from the look of things.

_What happened?_

Who else had been infected? Only the Jon Doe? Than how had it spread?

They practically broke down the large Temple doors as they entered. Immediately, they noticed the eerie difference.

The silence.

Not a soul was anywhere in the front halls, which were unusual. "They must be near the back," Obi-Wan panted. "Because I **_saw_** people in here. They're probably near the hangers."

Anakin nodded, also trying to catch his breath. "Alright – there are two ways to get back there. I'll take the right corridor, you go through the Halls of Healing. We need to find **_someone_**."

"Okay."

The two friends split up, and Anakin forced his trembling legs back into a run as he tore through various hallways, trying to reach the back. He honed into his senses… Yes, he could sense beings inside the Temple, but so far he had physically seen no one.

However, as he ran closer and closer to the hangers, he began picking out the noises of shouting, protesting, and lots of banging. The sounds grew louder until his ears were filled with the sound of a rioting throng. As he entered the first hanger, he found himself face to face with a horde of angry, panicked people, the citizens of Coruscant all screaming at the top of their lungs. He spotted Master Windu standing on top of a speeder, trying to calm everyone down in vain. Clone troopers were positioned everywhere around the hanger, and Anakin noticed several of the ships were already starting to fly out.

He just stared at the scene before finding Jason, standing in a corner of the room, typing something on a data-pad. "Jason! Over here! Jason!"

The red-headed Jedi looked up to see his friend, eyes wide. "Anakin?!" He immediately forced his way through the crowd and over to them.

The two met each other in the hall just outside of the hanger. "Jason, what's happened? We just managed to get back…"

"Anakin." Jason's green eyes held a strange gleam… Fear. "That theory of yours about the virus and the mutants… You were right. Oh Force, you were right. Dr. Fuzio…"

The doctor's name once again sent Anakin's heart racing. "Wait – where's Ahsoka?! She was with Fuzio doing the autopsy…"

Jason quickly placed a hand on the younger Jedi's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "She's safe, Anakin!" he cut him off. "She's in the Underworld now, with Master Plo. They're evacuating the lower levels. Thank the Force she wasn't hurt. Neither was Inya, the doctor's assistant."

"What happened?"

"Ahsoka told me all three were working on the body when Fuzio seemed to have a dizzy spell. He shrugged it off as a headache, but upon Inya's insistence, he went to lay down in the lounge area of the hospital for a while…"

Jason's voice got lower as he continued. "…Ahsoka said about an hour later, she felt a disturbing presence in the Force. That's when Inya told her that Fuzio had cut himself with a piece of the Jon Doe's bone. He'd disinfected it; but Ahsoka, thank the Force, knew better. She had Inya bar the door, just as Fuzio came screaming and stumbling down the hall, his skin all grey and his eyes **_bleeding_**…"

"…There were screams and chaos as Fuzio attacked his secretary, and then some fellow doctors. Ahsoka helped Inya climb out the window, and then they contacted the police. But by the time they had arrived… The infected had managed to escape the hospital and invade the Underworld. The disease spread fast, faster than we had first anticipated."

Anakin felt a chill run up his spine. "Do you know how the infection spreads?"

Jason nodded gravely. "A bite. Ahsoka said Fuzio bit his secretary on the neck, and about ten minutes later, she was one of… them."

The entire Temple rocked as an explosion could be seen from the Underworld level 2. Sirens blared.

**xXx DATE: 5/10/45876 (Five Months Later) xXx**

_Anakin sat down next to Jason, who was just switching off his comlink. "Still doing those logs?" _

_Jason replied with a nod, and then looked out towards the horizon. His eyes landed on the silhouette of the Temple, and he frowned. "People need **some way** to know what happened here."_

_Anakin drew his knees to the chest, and shivered slightly despite the warm breeze that blew through Coruscant. From their position on the rooftop of Standards hospital, they could see a good portion of the once majestic planet._

_"Do you think they're still okay?" the Knight spoke up finally, voice just a whisper. "On Naboo, I mean. Think the virus still hasn't reached there?"_

_"I think we'd feel it if something had happened," Jason replied slowly. _

_"I wish we had some way of contacting them."_

_A brief pause. "We all do."_

_"Think we'll ever find a real cure for this thing?"_

_Jason took his time thinking of a true but not dismaying reply. "We have to keep hoping. If we lose hope in the cure and in Naboo… then we lose our last reasons to live."_

**xXx DATE: 1/01/45876 (Four Months Earlier) xXx**

/Everyone, please keep in single file! Any disorderly conduct will not be tolerated, and will be dealt severe consequences! Single file! Be prepared to either show a written evaluation from medical staff, or undergo a physical exam!/

The mechanical voice rang across the landing docks thanks to an advanced speaker and security system that had been rigged up. Thousands of civilians were crowded into that one tiny space port, hoping to get off world before the infection reached the surface of Coruscant.

The Underworld was being torn apart by the savage mutants (nicknamed mutts by the media). Because that part of the planet was lost anyway, fires were being set all over in hopes of controlling the virus's contamination rate.

It wasn't working.

Every once in a while a person would show up, trying to sneak off world; and then they would be caught with an infected wound or a small bite in their flesh. Those people would immediately be hauled into gunships, screaming and kicking before being flown off to 'be dealt with'.

You never saw those people again.

Rumors spread. "The Republic caused the virus!" or "They're using the mutants as experiments for super soldier clones!" Typical tabloid drab. But that didn't mean they went unnoticed. For a panicked people, any information was soaked up like water to a dry sponge – and the Council and Senate were faced with angry mobs of scared citizens looking for answers.

Chancellor Palpatine and most of the Senate had been the first to be evacuated, along with most of the Jedi Council. Security droids were really the only one's keeping full, blown-out terror. Clones had gone MIA and AWOL. No nearby planets were willing to offer assistance out of fear of the virus coming to their own homes.

The evacuation lasted three weeks. By the time New Year rolled around, it was taking every ship, weapon, and fighting force available to keep the mutts from reaching the last few available space ports.

Coruscant was dead. No. Coruscant was home for the **_un_**dead, which was what a few thought the mutants were. Zombies.

Anakin Skywalker had seen many horrific things during his career as a Jedi; but never had he witnessed the destruction of an entire planet, all at once. He saw a skyscraper crash to the ground one dusk, watched the entire thing get overrun with those creatures before bombers blew the base of the thing. It was like it was in the holo-vids, with the special effects and digital editing.

But it wasn't a movie. It was his home, which was gone now, probably forever.

_It took 9 hours for this entire planet to be wiped out._

The nightmares were ripping sleep away from his exhausted mind. More vivid, more traumatizing. Mostly about the virus, but Death and her chilling smile was still there, in the darkest corners of his mind. Laughing at him.

_"You can't stop me, Chosen One."_

He couldn't. He couldn't stop any of it.

What was the point of being the Chosen One then?

There were very few Jedi still on world. Obi-Wan, himself, Ahsoka, Windu, and one or two Knights. All the others had left with the citizens to help find them new homes and continue the research on the infection. So far, a cure seemed like nothing more than a distant, impossible dream. The virus was spreading too fast, too far.

_At least Padme's safe._

**xXx DATE: 12/25/45875 (One Week Earlier) xXx**

_"Anakin, come with me."_

_The pretty brunette senator clung to her (secret) lover, her hands clutching his sleeves as he held her close. _

_"I can't," he said regretfully. Oh, how he wished he could just run away with her, away from the war and this new disease and everything that threatened their love… "I have to stay with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. We have to oversee the evacuation."_

_Tears began spilling from her eyes, and she suddenly flung herself into his embrace, sobbing. Anakin stared at her with wide-eyes as he comfortingly stroked her hair. "Padme, what's wrong? I'll be okay, I'll leave as soon as the evacuation is over… Padme, please stop crying. You're trembling, Padme, talk to me, please!"_

_"I-I can't lose you, not now, not to this **thing**," the Naboo senator stammered between sobs. "Oh, please come away with us, Anakin! Don't stay here! It's too dangerous, the infection…"_

_"Wait." Slowly, gently, he pushed her away so he could stare into her chocolate satin eyes with a confused mask. "Us? Padme…"_

_She looked up at him, and hung her head. "I need you Anakin. I need you more than ever…"_

_"…Ani, I'm pregnant."_

**xXx DATE: 1/01/45876 (One Week Later) xXx**

"Anakin, come on…"

The young Hero with No Fear looked up to see Obi-Wan standing in the doorway of the small police station, the dim lighting sending shadows across the bearded Jedi's face. Kenobi's gray eyes seemed almost black with the growing darkness.

"…it's time to go."

It was time to leave Coruscant.

Anakin nodded slowly, sighing quietly to himself. The station was abandoned, just like all the other buildings. He could still hear the explosions and screams, but at least they were minimal, and there was an eerie emptiness. But eerie emptiness was better than the desperate throngs outside.

Obi-Wan walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ahsoka's saving us rooms on one of the ships," he added. "We should leave now, before…" He didn't finish – he didn't have to. There had already been countless cases with mutants sneaking onto ships, or the pilot's going too fast and killing all on board by crashing the kriffing thing.

Anakin got up, and slowly followed his partner out of the station.

The crowds were still there, but they had been reduced to a rather small handful of people still waiting for a ship to be available, clutching their medical approval papers with their life. Anakin only had to turn his head to the right, and he could see past the ray shields into the quarantined part of Coruscant. The streets seemed empty; but everyone now knew that if one merely took a single step past the border, the creatures would come pouring out of buildings and sewers and anything big enough to hold them.

He quickly looked away.

They saw several gunships up ahead, and Obi-Wan led his younger friend through the mob, towards the one he knew Ahsoka would be on.

Suddenly, a security officer stepped in front of them, blocking their path. "Ship #756 is full, sirs. Please step away."

"What do you mean full?" Immediately, anger and anxiety flashed in Anakin's eyes. "My Padawan is on that ship!"

"Good for her." The reply was dry and void. "Step away."

Anakin was about to snap when Obi-Wan calmly intervened. "We'll go to the next ship, then, sir. Thank you." Before anything else could be said, the Negotiator led his former apprentice away from the scene.

As soon as they were a good distance away, Anakin turned on the older man. "What are you doing? Ahsoka…"

"Is safe, Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly. "She's on the ship, which means she's safe. We'll just go to the next ship and we'll choose a rendezvous point. Besides, you could always comm…"

Just then, Anakin's comlink began blinking, as if on cue. Then, Ahsoka's voice came through the speaker. "Master?"

"Snips." Anakin looked utterly relieved, as if just hearing her voice could dim any worries he'd had about her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She sounded tired, but they all were. Anakin couldn't deny he himself was exhausted, and Obi-Wan seemed much… older. "I couldn't hold the seats any longer," she continued. "Sorry. Can you find another ship?"

Obi-Wan answered that question. "Yes. In fact, here we are."

It was a rather large gunship, and after showing they were Republic generals and Jedi, the duo was able to easily get seats. Just in time. The ship's doors were sealed and locked, and it began lifting into the air.

Ahsoka's ship took off at the same time. Anakin looked out the window to see the people still on the ground, still hoping for a ride off world. _Will they be able to get off_?

The question rolled around in his mind just before a slithering voice broke his thoughts.

"You can't stop me, Chosen One."

Anakin's eyes widened, and he bolted upright in the small passengers seat, looking around frantically. Death's hissing tone lingered in his mind like a bad taste to his mouth.

Obi-Wan watched him, concerned. "Anakin? What's wrong?"

"I could've sworn I heard someone say…"

Suddenly, both Jedi were **_slammed_** with a heaviness in the Force, a feeling of dread worse than all the others they had felt before. Obi-Wan winced; but Anakin's natural instincts kicked in, and he jumped to his feet, looking out the window.

At first he saw nothing but the thick clouds of Coruscant's atmosphere; but slowly, painfully slowly, he made out the shape of Ahsoka's ship. It was rocking. Violently **_rocking_**.

And at the same time, the young Padawan's voice came through the comlink in a **_scream_**. _'Master! Master, oh Force, Master!'_

"Ahsoka!" Anakin lifted the comm to his mouth, never tearing his eyes away from the ship. Obi-Wan was by his side now, and several other people on board were mumbling and looking around, confused. "Ahsoka, what's…"

_'Oh Force, Master, I'm so sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Anakin!'_

_Anakin_?

Was she **_crying_**?

"Ahsoka, what the hell is going on?!" he roared into the comm.

_'I let my guard down, I was sloppy… Holy Force, Master, the pilot's a mutt! He just attacked the copilot, they're breaking out of the cockpit…'_ The Padawan was sobbing and screaming. _'Anakin, Anakin, I'm sorry! I should've paid closer attention…'_

Anakin couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. All he could do was stare as the ship flying next to his own as his ears were filled with the horror-fest going on inside. He could just make out a bloody handprint on the windows…

He couldn't do anything.

He couldn't do a damn thing!

Nothing.

_Oh Force…_

His heart was going to burst from his chest.

Everyone else in the ship had heard Ahsoka, and they were all standing and crying out as they could make out the shapes of people running and fighting on board. Ahsoka activated her lightsabers… There! Anakin could see the flashes of green.

"Ahsoka." His voice sounded weird. He wanted to scream, but all he could do was whisper hoarsely. "Ahsoka…"

_'Anakin, I have a clear path to the cockpit! I'm…I'm…'_ Panting. _'… I'm in! I've locked the door! Anakin, I-I have t-to land this thing on Coruscant. I can't let these things reach any other systems…'_

He found his voice. "No! Ahsoka, just get the ship under control! We'll come and get you…"

_'No.'_ The crying had died down, she sounded more in control now. _'Anakin, the engines are fried. So are the controls. If I cut all power to the thrusters we can… we can…' We can fall and crash back onto Coruscant_, was what she wanted to say. Anakin got the message.

"Ahsoka, no!"

But he could already see the blue light of the engines fade away. The ship started slowly falling back towards the surface.

_Oh Force, please not her. __No! No, no, no, no, NO! _"Ahsoka!"

_'Master.'_ Ahsoka's voice sounded so young. Oh Force, she was so young! A child! She couldn't die! Call it selfish, he didn't care.

He couldn't let her go.

But despite her age, she sounded a bit older as she continued, _'Thanks for everything you've done for me.' Thanks for being my brother_, was added silently in her mind.

_'No, no, no, Ahsoka! __Please__…'_ He couldn't see the ship anymore. He heard Obi-Wan talking in the background, but was too focused on his Padawan… **_sister_**… to care about what he was saying.

Ahsoka's ship caught on fire. She sat down in the pilot's seat, despite the blood, and brushed away several silent tears only to have twice as many take their place. "Anakin, I…" She wanted to tell him so much.

Anakin leaned his head against the window, very close to hyperventilating. He felt her presence in the Force, so young and full of life. _9 hours! All this in 9 damn hours!_ Tears began falling.

Then, he heard her voice.

_'I love you, Skyguy.'_

A world-shattering crash came two seconds later.

The bond snapped.

Anakin dropped to his knees.

There were small screams from the others in the ship.

Ahsoka's presence was gone.

And three days later, mutants appeared on Shili, Tatooine, and Hoth.


	7. MAV and the Plan

Chapter 7: MAV and the Plan

* * *

><p><strong>DATE: 419/45876 (Four months since Coruscant's infection) (One month since every other planet except for Naboo was pronounced uninhabitable)**

The virus spread like a wildfire, uncontrollable. Unpredictable. Destroying everything, and everyone, in its wake.

But even then, nothing can compare to how fast **_fear_ **spreads.

Christophsis and Coruscant were the first two to fall. One week later, three other planets had mutants ravaging their surfaces. Add another week, and the Inner Core and Outer Rim were completely devastated, as the virus began traveling from the edges of the galaxy inward, towards the more populated systems. Millions died, but **_billion_**_s_ were transformed into mutts; zombie-like creatures mutated by the virus.

The survivors became fewer and fewer in number. Eventually, they were forced to Naboo. And there they had remained, hiding in that tiny corner of the galaxy while demented monsters ruled the rest of their universe.

It was an apocalypse that seemed crazy enough to pass as a strange fairy tale or a scary holo-vid.

Only it wasn't fake. It was reality.

Naboo was the galaxy's last safe haven. Maybe a million or so people all crowded onto one small planet, cowering without hope. Just waiting for MAV (mutating aggravating virus) to reach them and turn them into more of those creatures that plagued the galaxy.

"My mommy said monsters weren't real," one little Twi'lek girl whimpered from the cot where she lay. "Why did she lie to me?"

Sitting right next to her, Padme Amidala held a small, blue-skinned hand as she whispered, "Most of the time it isn't true. I don't think your mother would lie to you on purpose. But your safe here, Brya. Now, go to sleep. I've got some business to attend to."

The brunette stood up and walked out of the large hut which was serving as one of the several 'orphanages', places for children whose parents were either missing or turned into one of… them. Padme liked working with the kids – especially when she thought of the growing bump forming in her abdomen. One hand placed protectively over her unborn child, she walked through the Virado square to the capitol building, which was one of the ten security headquarters set up across the planet.

She entered after flashing her ID pass, and then continued to the main war room. It was already filled with several people, mostly military commanders and scientists. The Jedi Council was positioned in the nearby city of Theed; but a few, like Obi-Wan and Plo Koon, were with them. Her eyes immediately searched for a certain Knight. She found him quickly – Anakin was with his mentor near the holo-projectors, looking over a bunch of charts depicting how fast the virus had spread on each system.

She stared at him for a few moments. He looked so tired, so dismayed. Ahsoka's death had been traumatizing for him… He was working his way out of the depression, but it was slow.

Obi-Wan was next to his friend's side, helping him to calculate times and work out the proper numbers. After a few more moments, Obi-Wan happened to look up, and then he flashed her a weary smile.

That made her approach them. She noticed a few disapproving glares for a handful of people. Too bad for them. She kept one hand on her stomach, and as soon as she reached Anakin, she flung herself into his arms and kissed him.

Their marriage had been discovered perhaps three weeks after Coruscant's fall. A huge debate had followed, the Jedi Council immediately wanting to expel Skywalker, many of the senators wanting Amidala out of office. Eventually, though, the arguments had ceased without any real solution, because MAV was spreading too fast, and soon enough, there was no Republic. No Clone War. No Separatists. Everything was just… gone. And even though there were the Jedi still, the Temple was long gone, and their numbers had dwindled to a mere handful. The Code didn't matter anymore, Obi-Wad had argued. Now, it was all about survival.

Anakin and Padme kept their positions, and were free to be open with their love.

For now.

Anakin returned the gentle embrace, and then backed away a bit. "How are the children doing?" His voice was very quiet. Padme looked up into the eyes, and noted how they weren't even the bright blue that had put Nubian skies to shame – they had dimmed so much, almost a grey color.

"They're okay," she replied, equally soft, keeping her voice steady.

Her mind flashed back to a few months ago, Anakin with his arms wrapped around him while both of them cried together. "They're going to take her away from me today," he had whispered in her ear, which had triggered the tears. The long hours with the surviving Soul Healers had done her husband good, when he had gone into denial about Ahsoka's death, despite the fact that he **_knew_** she was dead. No one could sense her, and no one could have survived that crash. At one point, he'd sworn he'd seen her in a crowd. That was when Obi-Wan had begun bringing him to the Healers, and slowly, the slight dementia faded away. The memories of his Padawan were now fogged and cracked, with several gaps. It had torn him apart, but he was better now.

She hoped.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat, and the couple turned to see him pointing to a small hologram that was projecting several codes and charts. "Anakin and I were just going over Inya's notes on MAV. Trying to find weaknesses in the DNA structure of the virus and such."

Padme's heart skipped a beat. "And did you…?"

"No." Obi-Wan cut her off, not wanting to raise any hopes. "Not yet. We have confirmed that the virus is 'transported' from the saliva glands in a mutt's mouth into an open wound – thus, the biting."

"But you still haven't found a vaccine or anything." Not a question.

"No."

Padme placed her head in her palm, sighing quietly. When she looked up, both Jedi were staring at her sadly. She composed herself. "What are we supposed to do then? Keep searching on computers and paperwork hoping for a miracle that is clear will never come?"

At those words, both men visibly tensed – and that did not go unnoticed by Padme. "What? What is it?" She stared at her husband.

Anakin's eyes were locked onto the ground, and Obi-Wan was shifting uncomfortably. She narrowed her eyes. "What is it already?"

Obi-Wan finally had to say something. "The Jedi Council and some military officers… they've… they're working on a plan that may provide a cure."

Padme stiffened. "What?"

Finally, Anakin raised his eyes to look at his lover. His voice was still quiet, but it provided answers. "They're going to send a team back to Coruscant to try and find a cure there."

No. Way.

"They can't do that!" was her first reaction. "Sending anybody there would be suicide? Are they crazy?!"

"Padme, it's the only way…"

"Who would even be willing to go back to that hell-hole?"

There was a lapse of silence.

No. **_Way_**_._

Immediately, she felt a chill run through her veins. Anakin was giving her this sad, regretful look. _Of Force, no…_ "No. No, no, no, no, no, no! Anakin…!"

"I have to do it!" he blurted out finally. "Padme, I'm the only one…"

"No, Anakin!" She didn't care that the entire room was staring at them. The Council and police had devised this scheme of sending a team – with **_her husband_** – on it to apocalyptic Coruscant behind her back. "You're not going! You **_can't_**! I need you here!"

Her words sounded a bit selfish, but she didn't care about that either at the moment. She wanted Anakin on Naboo, with her, away from MAV and the mutts, helping her and being with her when their child was to be born.

"Padme, I'll be going with him…"

Obi-Wan too? "No, you can't go, you can't! I won't let you, I-I…" Tears began falling. _Damn pregnancy hormones_. She was on the verge of breaking down. She didn't want to do that, not in the headquarters. She turned around and ran.

"Padme!" Immediately, Anakin bolted after her, while Obi-Wan remained behind, staring at the ground. "Padme, wait! Stop!"

She didn't stop, though; at least, not until she was a good distance out to the Virado borders. There was a little patch in the forest there, near a small, uncharted lake. She loved that place, and once she reached it, she finally felt free to shatter and sob.

Anakin was never so grateful for his Jedi tracking skills as he easily found her crying on the ground near the crystal blue lake. He knelt down next to her, and she cried into his shoulder as he held her and shushed her. "Padme," he whispered quietly. "It'll all be alright. It'll be okay."

She looked up at him with watery eyes, shimmering with the rays of light that managed to break through the leafy overhang. "Why do **_you_** have to go? Why not someone else, the Council, the military, some clones…"

"Angel." He held her shoulders gently but firmly, looking right into her eyes. "Do you remember last year, before all this happened… Do you remember how I used to leave the apartment at night, and when you asked what was wrong, I told you I just couldn't sleep. I said it was nothing. Do you remember?"

She did. "Yes."

He lowered his eyes to the blades of dark green grass that was tinted with the random leaf and flower. "I lied…"

"…I said nothing was wrong, but there was. I was having nightmares, constantly. I kept dreaming of an apocalypse, a genocide, but I kept them mostly to myself."

She was beginning to understand. "You dreamt about… about **_this_**?"

He nodded, as if ashamed. She didn't want to see him so full of self-blame – she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead. He spoke up again. "Padme, the dreams are still going on. At first they were about Ahsoka, and her death. But now they've gone back to being about the virus. I keep having the same dream, about a group of people on Coruscant researching for cure. Obi-Wan and I are on that team, and so is Jason and Inya and several others. And I keep having the feeling that if I ignore this one like I ignored the others…" He couldn't finish. He bowed his head and rested it on her own forward, so that they were both facing each other with their noses just barely touching.

"I have to go, Padme. These visions may be the only thing that will help us survive this thing. If I don't, it'll only be a matter of time before MAV reaches Naboo."

His words made sense, a very good point. Silent tears rolled down her delicate cheeks, dampening her gentle curls that stuck to her face as she said, "And what if the dreams are wrong? What if you go to Coruscant and can't find a way to get back? What if your trapped there, or infected by one of those monsters? Ani, what if your **_killed_**? I can't raise this baby alone!"

He kissed her, shushing her for a moment before turning away. "I promise, I'll a way back. You won't raise our child alone. We won't be able to return until we find a cure, but there **_will_**_ be_ a return. You have to trust the Force that it'll keep us all safe."

"What do you mean, won't come back until…?"

"Angel, this virus is so contagious and deadly. The team will not be leaving Coruscant until we are sure we've found a solution. Naboo is the only safe haven left – we can't risk infecting it."

"What about comms or holo-disks or…?"

"All the power lines and grids are down, remember? Nothing will work outside of Naboo."

She started crying again. She couldn't lose him, she couldn't bear to lose him…

He wrapped his arms around her, rocking her as she wept. Should he tell her about the demonic nightmares, the ones about Death and her taunting? No. It would be too much for her to handle. MAV itself was enough to send anyone to an asylum after long… The suggestion that it may have been caused by supernatural demons would…

No. It was best not to tell her.

But he had to go to Coruscant with his team.

It was the only way.

The **_only way_**.

**xXx Date: ****5/06/45876 (One Month Later) xXx**

For the sake of everyone going, the plan wasn't put into actual effect for another month. By that time, everyone knew what the Jedi Council was strategizing and most of the common citizens were **_furious_**. The main argument was that sending anybody – even Jedi – back to that wasteland would be like marching a clone squadron into the heart of enemy territory without any weapons. They hardly had any real information on MAV, absolutely nothing to help them begin looking for a cure. Not to mention there were only a dozen or so going. Three Jedi (Anakin, Obi-Wan and Jason), Inya (who had been Dr. Fuzio's assistant), three military officers from Yaazix-5 (Ax, Dean, and Josh), a Naboo security guard (Karis), another scientist and doctor (Nathan and Lynn), and finally, a handful of clone troopers (including Captain Rex of the 501st).

The Council had asked only for volunteers. They hadn't forced anyone to go, didn't bribe or threaten. At least that part had been fair.

The day of departure was pluvial, dark clouds hanging in the Naboo skies, with a light drizzle dampening everything and everyone. The Theed square was filled with people, packed together to watch the departure of the Colony; that was what the team was being called. They would be using three Yaazix-5 military transports; they'd land on Coruscant, and remain there as long as it took to find a cure. Obi-Wan had been the one to suggest Standards hospital, since that was where Fuzio had first begun investigating MAV, and he might've left some research. Inya had quickly agreed.

Most of the surviving Jedi were present. Quinlan Vos had a torn, regretful expression as he shook hands with Kenobi – that only lasted a second before the yellow-tattooed ruffian pulled his friend into a quick embrace. "I should've volunteered," he whispered hoarsely. "I should be going with you. I can…"

"No, Quin." Obi-Wan cut the other man off, and pulled out of the crushing hug, offering him a weak smile. "There has to be **_somebody_** left here when we find that cure and wipe this thing out."

Quinlan simply nodded.

Obi-Wan scanned the crowd that had gathered around the landing pad. True – the prospect of a dozen against millions of mutts chilled his blood. He could think of countless volunteers that would've gone if only they had survived the first few months of the outbreak: Bant, Ahsoka, Kit Fisto, Barriss Offee, Master Luminara…

He pushed those thoughts away.

"Please don't leave me." Over on the other side of the ships, hidden from the crowds and the others, Padme hung limp in her husband's arms as he tried to calm her down.

She had sobbed the entire night through, and had run out of tears. So she just let him rock her as she closed her weary eyes, leaning against his chest. Just being in his touch made her feel like nothing in the galaxy could harm her…

She wrapped her thin arms around his strong build. "Anakin…"

"Shh." He leaned his chin on the top of her hair, breathing in her perfume. It reminded him of a salty ocean, a white-sanded beach. He wasn't too fond of the sand, but the crystal turquoise water, so deep and refreshing…

"When I get back, I'll take you to the beach."

The statement sounded so out of place she pulled away to look in his eyes quizzically. She searched his face; and only found longing. He didn't want to leave her – he just had no choice. She knew that deep in her heart, even if she wanted to deny it.

The awkward suggestion sounded much better than her sobs or the goodbyes she had planned, so she replied with a quiet, "I like the beach." She sounded like a little girl again, and when she looked back up into his eyes, it was almost like looking at the small nine-year-old boy on the desert planet.

His lips twitched so that they formed a small smile. "I know. We'll have a picnic, on the sand."

"You hate the sand."

"I don't mind."

She actually laughed. Their conversation sounded so stupid, so, so stupid… He wasn't going to take her to the beach. He was going to Coruscant, not to return for what could be months. Years even, if they couldn't find a cure.

She flung herself back into his embrace. "It's a date, then," she choked out. He nodded slowly, closed his eyes, held her close. He could feel her heartbeat – it was soothing. Just knowing she was alive, and that she belonged to him and him alone.

Her head was on his chest – she heard his heart as well.

The two beats matched each other perfectly.

She started crying again.

After a while, Obi-Wan came around looking for them, and Anakin left to join the other Colony members. Padme managed to kiss him one last time, and then was ushered back into the crowd, where several of her friends came to support her. Bail Organa, a few Jedi, and some citizens… These were people that had been happy for her when they discovered her marriage to Anakin.

Her family was missing. They had been visiting cousins on Mandalore when MAV hit.

The Duchess Satine of Mandalore was MIA too.

Obi-Wan was still depressed about that fact; though he wouldn't show it. Of course he wouldn't.

The Colony members all stood in a line before the ships as Mace Windu reminded them about the dangers, related any facts and words of encouragement he could. He spoke more to Obi-Wan directly; but nobody minded at the moment.

Jason was standing next to Anakin, and shot the younger man a worried look. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered quietly. "Anakin, you don't have to…"

"Don't." Anakin's voice was just as quiet, but more firm. "I have to go. Just drop it, please."

Jason consented reluctantly, and tuned back to Windu.

"…Good luck to you all," the bald-headed Jedi was saying. "May the Force be with you."

Suddenly, a round of blue laser shots were fired into the air. The lasers soared into the clouds and disappeared. Padme guessed Naboo security had done that part.

Slowly, one by one, the members entered the three ships. One Jedi would be in each, and Anakin managed to catch a quick glimpse of Obi-Wan waving at him a bit before the bearded Jedi disappeared among his small group.

He wouldn't even be with Jason on the way there. Anakin was with Ax, Karis, and three rookie clone troopers on his ship. He didn't know any of them. He wouldn't see the others until they arrived on Coruscant – and that was only if they managed to land without any casualties. Standards hospital would need to be completely cleared out, and it was probably overflowing with those creatures.

He only managed to see a flash of Padme reaching out to him before the ship's heavy, ray-shielded door was sealed in place. It was a military ship, so there were no windows except in the cockpit. The ships weren't normal Republic cruisers – they were a bit cruder, less modern. The entire vessel rocked as the twin engines roared in the background. They were taking off.

Karis and one of the clones were piloting. Anakin didn't have any problem letting someone else fly for a change. He chose the seat all the way in the back, wedged into the darkest corner of the area, and sat down, drawing his knees to his chest. He could here Ax talking to the clones. "…gonna blow some mutt ass…!" the middle-aged soldier was exclaiming loudly.

Anakin blocked out the noise, the sight, using the Force to form a sort of shield around himself.

He was supposed to the Chosen One. The Hero with No Fear. The Unstoppable Warrior.

But that was back when the galaxy wasn't overrun with mutated creatures. Back when he'd been with his wife and thriving within the walls of the Jedi Temple.

Back when Ahsoka was his snippy little sister, when he'd gone on mission with Obi-Wan, laughing and joking. Before the nightmares, MAV, the feeling that his life was shattering into irreparable little pieces.

He was afraid.

Oh Force, suddenly he was so terribly afraid.

He felt alone.

He dropped his head onto his knees, wanting to just hide away. Cease to exist.

He never said goodbye to Padme.

_Oh Force…_

He was crouched in that dark little corner, on the verge of breaking down… That was when he felt it. The quiet little whisper in the Force, the soothing, calm, familiar presence.

_"It's going to be okay, Anakin"_

Obi-Wan.

_"I'm right here, Anakin"_

_"Master" _He desperately reached and grabbed Obi-Wan presence, pulling the warm sensation around him, shrinking into its comfort.

Obi-Wan was in the other transport, with Josh, Derek, and two clones. He was in the back area, and quietly sent his friend soothing pulses through the Force, feeling the boy losing control of his emotions.

It was rare when Anakin allowed his inner pain to be felt through the Force, so Obi-Wan knew that his former apprentice was reaching his breaking point.

_"Everything's going to be okay"_

_"How can you say that?" _was the bitter reply. _"Nothing's okay? It won't be!"_

Obi-Wan was scared – he wasn't afraid to admit it. He was nervous, doubtful. He wasn't sure they would ever be returning, couldn't even guarantee they would survive the first few hours. So there was really nothing else he could tell the younger Jedi.

So instead, the two partners just held onto each other's Force-presences as the quietly whispered to each other through the energy field.

Padme looked up from where she was still standing in the Square, crying silently. The ships jumped to hyperspace, and then…

…they were gone.

* * *

><p>End Part I<p> 


	8. Welcome to Standards

**Lethal Outbreak: Part I: The Colony**

_**MAV has wiped out everything in its path, leaving the galaxy in ruins. There is no Republic, no Clone War. Only Naboo is left unaffected, and who knows how long that will last? In a desperate attempt to find a cure or vaccine, a special team has been dispatched to return to the apocalyptic Coruscant and hunt for an antidote and some answers. This is their story, the story of the Colony, their fight to survive, their struggle against the odds. Just remember…**_

_**…Not everyone has a happy ending.**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: Welcome to Standards<p>

* * *

><p><em>Everyone had originally believe that the Clone War was the worst thing that could happen to the galaxy – war <strong>is<strong> horrible; but people's minds were too narrowed, too focused on the present to explore other possibilities. So when MAV arrived, no one was prepared. _

_Absolutely no one._

_Christophsis was the first to be infected, though no one knew at the time. An entire city was being overrun by mutants, and people didn't find out until it was too late._

_Coruscant was next. **That** was even worse, because billions had occupied that planet. Now? Nothing but those flesh-chomping creatures. Even the Jedi are near extinction._

_It continued like this for about five months, until every single planet except for Naboo was infected. Every single one of them. Unthinkable, right? It's true. Now we've got probably a million or so people, all huddling on this one planet, cowering in that little corner of the galaxy, just waiting to be the next victims of this kriffing disease. We've tried doing research, but we don't have enough information to even begin **thinking** of a cure._

_It's these facts that have brought us to where we are now. Three military ships heading back to the ruins of Coruscant to attempt finding a cure. Living among those monsters so we can try discovering a vaccine. _

_Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jason Dean. Inya. Ax. Karis Marie. Captain Rex. Kix. Lynn. Josh Kaller. Derek. Nathan Fox. Match. A few other clones._

_We're the Colony._

**DATE: 5/06/45876**

"Force, damn it, shoot them in the head!" Jason's voice screamed into the air, which was filled with the sounds of the other's shouts and the mutt's screeches.

Volleys of lasers began flying across the room, small, glowing blue pellets used in the Yaazix-5 military machine guns.

Anakin's lightsaber came to life, but before the young Jedi could move forward, Obi-Wan lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing, Master?"

"Use the guns," the bearded Jedi instructed swiftly. "Remember what happened earlier? Josh is right – we can't afford jumping into the middle of those things. The blasters are safer…"

Just then, the last of the barriers came crashing down, and the zombies came pouring in…

**xXx (15 Hours Earlier) xXx**

"Everybody up!"

The barking, sudden voice was enough to nearly send Obi-Wan reeling out of his seat, his Jedi instincts keeping him from crashing through the floor. He groaned, rubbing away the remaining sleep that weighed down his eyes.

The first thing he noticed once his vision was clear was the hot, yellow sunlight that streaking through the tiny little slits that passed as windows. _Sunlight? But that would mean…_

His thought was finished by Derek calling out, "Wake up, you kriffing sausages! We're in atmosphere! We're in Coruscant's atmosphere! Up and at 'em, time to kick mutt butt!"

Obi-Wan was fully awake one second later, as were the rest of his company. Now that his senses were fully operational, he could hear the engine's had been reduced to a low humming – they were hovering in the atmosphere. Rex was going over his twin pistols, Derek striding around waking up the others. Obi-Wan guessed Josh was still piloting, since he didn't see him in the seating hold.

Suddenly, there was a heavy, brown/green uniform being dropped onto his lap, along with a large shotgun and plenty of ammunition. Raising an eyebrow, the bearded Jedi looked up to see Derek looking at him with a similar stare.

"I really hope you weren't planning on running out there like that," the Yaazix-5 soldier stated. "Cause those mutts down there would chomp right through that like a hot knife through butter. This…" He patted the uniform as if it were a dog or something. "…is your life right now. Protection from bites is as good as a whole round of ammunition. Speaking of which, after you change, come back to me so I can give you a weapon. A **_real_** weapon."

Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel a bit offended at the brash trooper's nature, and frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by…"

"That lightsaber of yours is great, yeah, but what happens when you've got a hundred or so mutts running at you with their teeth bared and claws ready to rip right through your flesh? To use that sword you need to be in close range with the target. A firearm will allow you to blow off mutt by the dozen **_and_** you can be several feet away, on the rooftop or hiding behind a clump of wreckage."

True points were in Derek's words, so Obi-Wan consented, and walked off to change in the small 'fresher.

"Prepare for synchronizing in five." Josh's voice poured from the speakers planted on the ceiling.

All three military transports were flying side-by-side, just inside Coruscant's dry, hot atmosphere. As he slipped out of his Jedi attire and into the heavy brown/green camouflage kakis and jacket Derek had given him, Obi-Wan noted the intense heat sinking into the ship from the outside. _The weather controls was knocked out before the final evacuation_, he remembered. _Who knows what the planet is like now?_

They didn't have to wait long to find out. Once all ships were in position, still hovering in the sky, a large, circular door began sliding open in the side of the wall. Obi-Wan only managed to catch a quick glimpse of Coruscant before vacuum tunnels were implanted; but it was enough. A mixed shade of yellows and browns were down there. Hot, dry winds, a relentless sun that fried everything below its harsh gaze. Almost like a desert, except that instead of sand dunes, there were toppled buildings, ruins that went on and on for miles. And somewhere hidden in that destruction lay the creatures that were itching to sink their diseased-ridden fangs into his flesh.

Josh spoke up from the cockpit, "Synch completed in five… four… three… two… one…"

There was a loud clang, and all three transports were connected by the vacuum tunnels. This maneuver was common for Yaazix-5 military troopers, connecting all the ships so that everyone could have a face-to-face meeting before heading into battle.

Everyone still for a minute. Then, everyone began walking forward and meeting up in the center ship. It only took five seconds until Obi-Wan spotted Anakin and Jason, already together and standing in a corner of the ship. He walked over to them, and tried to conjure up a weak form of a smile. It didn't work.

Anakin's tired, desperate eyes locked onto his Master, and then he simply refused to let go. Obi-Wan moved over to his side and inconspicuously placed a hand on his arm, squeezing slightly. Anakin relaxed a bit at the encouraging touch, but not much.

They weren't the only anxious ones. Everyone was either burying their fear by attempting to appear completely nonchalant, while others poured over holo-maps or triple-checked their weapons. Obi-Wan observed each with intense observation, trying to get a firm reading on everyone. These people would be the Colony, his team, the ones he would spend the next days, weeks, months with. Everyone was dressed in the same Yaazix-5 military uniforms – courtesy of Derek, no doubt. He looked down, and saw Anakin was clinging to a large, sub-machine revolver blaster with an iron grip. He didn't have to ask before Anakin whispered, "Ax told me to use it. Said it was safer than the lightsabers."

They were in identical uniforms, but Obi-Wan also noticed the all three Jedi had a red line across their arms while the others didn't. Then he realized that the Jedi had a red band, and the medics had white. The clones were stripped of their shiny white armor, and their uniforms had a blue stripe. Everyone was loaded down with heavy ammunition, with various knives and smaller pistols on their utility belts.

Obi-Wan felt constricted. A Jedi's tunic was designed for maximum flexibility, covering the body with a light material that provided warmth but also ventilation for various weather. Being covered with so much armor, lugging around heavy blasters instead of his lightsaber felt strange to say the least.

Derek, who already seemed to be acting as unspoken-general of the team, was telling the others of Coruscant's main points, those that had never been to the planet. Obi-Wan knew each street and alley by heart – he had lived there for all thirty-three years of his life, after all; but he paid attention anyway. At least, until Anakin's quiet voice broke into his concentration.

"What do you think we'll find?"

Obi-Wan turned to see Jason had moved off to give them an opportunity to discuss things, and Anakin's stare was hard but seeking answers as he gazed at the older man.

"I don't know." He didn't want to admit it, but it was true. He wanted to say more, think of something encouraging to say or some good advice; but for once, the Negotiator was at a loss for words. Nothing he said would make the situation seem brighter, or fool Anakin into thinking everything would work out without major causalities or losses. So he remained silent, feeling the Force trembling around him from the worries and fears that seemed to melt right off the people surrounding him as he listened to Derek's voice.

"We are currently just yards away from Standards," the soldier was stating. "Our current mission is to take it over, and rid the halls of any mutts. Now there is an electric fence surrounding the building, but all power is currently offline. So for today, our plan is to land on the rooftop and take control of the first three levels. Create a barricade, spend the night. Tomorrow, we'll concentrate on restoring power and taking the rest of the building. Is that alright with you, generals?"

It took Obi-Wan a full minute before he realized Derek was staring right at him, waiting for an answer. Of course. Yaazix-5 had been neutral during the Clone War, but now this was a Republic operation. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Jason were the only Republic generals here, Obi-Wan a Jedi Master, so…

He had to answer.

Obi-Wan had really just been nodding to the entire plan, though, so he only replied with a, "Yes, that sounds good," before lapsing into silence again. He was impressed with Derek's abilities so far and wanted to see more.

The rest of the meeting consisted of everyone making sure they had a full two belts of laser bullets strapped onto them. Helmeted masks were slapped onto faces, guns checked then checked again. People were divided into two teams, one that would start going into the levels and clearing them, and the others would cover them. Obi-Wan knew that there had to be a Jedi on each team, and having the most experience, it would be better if he joined one group so that Anakin and Jason had each other. He made a move to go to the opposite party when he felt Anakin's panicked grip latch around his wrist.

"Don't." One word, but it spoke volumes for the younger Knight.

Obi-Wan turned, and saw that look had returned to Anakin's eyes. That haunted stare, filled with never-ending depths of pain, misery, and despair. He had that same look the weeks following Ahsoka's death.

"Anakin…" What could he say? Certainly things like "Everything will be okay" would be empty and meaningless. Anakin was depressed and desperate, but not stupid. So he said the next thing that came to his mind.

"…I need you to trust me."

Anakin's eyes flickered with a bit of that old honesty and trust that he had held as a Padawan, so Obi-Wan continued. "I need to be in the other group; but I need you to trust me. Do you?"

Anakin slowly nodded. "Yes."

Obi-Wan swallowed and then sighed shakily. "Okay then." He didn't know what else to do, what else to say, so he slowly turned and began walking away. He almost didn't catch the barely audible whisper that gently touched his ears as he left.

"Just don't die."

Three words, with a depth to them that only Obi-Wan would be able to discern.

_Don't leave me alone, like Ahsoka did_.

And of course, there wasn't a moment's hesitation before Obi-Wan responded through the Force, even if Anakin's thought had been implied and not sent aloud.

_"Wouldn't dream of it"_

The two teams each took to their ships: #1 held Obi-Wan, Rex, Ax, Lynn, Josh, Kira, and two clones. #2 was Anakin, Jason, Inya, Rex, Nathan, Derek, and four of the remaining five clones. Kix, a clone commander, would pilot the last ship once the rooftop and three upper levels were clear.

"My team will lead frontal assault while Kenobi's guards our backs and deals with the rear problems," Derek exclaimed above the noises of the engines, which were beginning to fire up again. "Any objections? Cause this is where the bed-wetters leave the station."

No one spoke up. Not even a nodding or shaking of the head. Just the grave, stone expressions that engraved each one's faces. Derek mirrored that look a few minutes longer before nodding slowly.

"Then let's do this."

The vacuum tunnels were retracted, and the teams in their proper shuttles.

_"May the Force be with you"_ Anakin heard Obi-Wan whisper gently through the Force, and Anakin managed to take slight comfort from the welcoming presence of his Master.

_"And with you. Be careful"_

_"I should be telling you that. You're the one running headlong into the blaze, as usual"_

Anakin almost smiled. Almost. _"Always with the lectures"_

_"Just… as you said. Be careful"_

The mental conversation was interrupted when Jason came and sat down to Anakin, fumbling with his uniform's zipper. "Stay next to me at all times, okay?"

The younger Jedi raised an eyebrow, frown growing a bit deeper. "I can handle myself, you know."

Before Jason could reply, Nathan came over and sat himself down next to the two, playfully slapping Anakin on the back. "Ah, we don't doubt that kid. We just don't want you getting killed the first day. You're supposed to be our psychic or something, right?"

"What?"

"Dreams or whatnot? You can use your Force-thingy to get us through this? That's what I overheard some of the others on Naboo saying…"

"Nathan." Derek snapped at the scientist, and sat down near the three. "Have some respect will you and shut up?"

Nathan slipped away to sit somewhere else soon after, and Derek took that time to finally sigh and shake his head. "Sorry 'bout that," he said, looking at Anakin. "I don't know why that guy is going on this joyride."

Jason quirked an eyebrow. "You know him?"

Derek nodded, and exhaled once again. "Yep. Scientist on Yaazix-5; got into the field 'cause of his daddy." He shot the blonde thirty-one-year-old a dirty look before turning back to the Jedi. "Guy's a pain in my ass, that's for sure."

"A lot of people from your planet were so willing to volunteer for this whole Colony thing," Anakin commented quietly. "I respect that, but… why?"

At that, Derek smirked and leaned back, a grin appearing on his lips. "See, people on our planet have this thing about respect. Respect, honor, and sacrifice. I guess it's got something to do with the fact that we're a military system."

"So you came for the honor of it?" This time is was Jason that voiced the question.

The smile reappeared. "We came because we saw quite a show of all three traits when they were asking volunteers." His eyes twinkled at Anakin, but when the younger Jedi still remained confused, he laughed lightly. "You're a bit shallow for a Jedi, kid." His expression turned more serious as he added, "I know you've got a family. I saw your wife, and I saw her say goodbye. That… that took guts. Leaving them behind to come here. That took guts, and that's at least why **_I_** volunteered."

A heavy silence followed, Anakin staring in disbelief for several minutes before he whispered the words, "Thank you."

Derek nodded, as if satisfied, and then ran a hand along his machine gun. "Just do what your red-headed friend suggested…" He winked at Jason. "…stick with him, and I've got both your backs."

Just as Jason and Anakin nodded, red lights began blinking around the ceiling, and then the announcement came.

"Get ready, guys, we're in position! Prepare for landing! Get ready!"

Suddenly, as everyone got to their feet, the round door slid open slowly; and everyone found themselves looking out at barren Coruscant, hovering a few feet above the rooftop of their target building – with about a dozen mutts already screeching and trying to jump up at them.

Anakin's ears seemed to burn as he felt Derek's arm rest of his shoulder and then his breath against the side of his face as he whispered, "This is it, kid…"

"…welcome to Standards."


	9. First Night

Chapter 2: First Night

* * *

><p>"Go, go, go!"<p>

Ropes had been dropped, dangling just above the rooftop of Standards hospital. Immediately, the first two soldiers – Rex and another clone – had jumped out of the ship and were sliding down the ropes, automatic weapons unlocked. Within seconds, there was a thump as they landed on their feet, and then the sound of bullets filled the air, drowning out the noise of the engines.

"We're next, kid!" Derek and Anakin sprinted forward, and glanced down. The door leading onto the roof was wide open, and mutts were pouring out of it, obviously attracted to the noise. Rex and his partner were plowing them down, but more kept coming.

"C'mon!" Their movements synchronized, Anakin and Derek swung onto the ropes and began sliding down towards the chaos below. Anakin could now say he was truly grateful he had changed out of his Jedi uniform, because the military gloves were a definite aid and a time saver as they finished sliding and landed firmly on their feet.

Immediately, Anakin cocked his firearm, not even bothering to reach for his lightsaber once he saw the wave of mutts running at them. He hoisted the heavy machine rifle up to his shoulder and took aim at a group of about four creatures coming at him from the right. In the lead was what must've once been a young girl, maybe seven or eight-year-old, still clothed in tattered pajamas. Blood pouring from her eyes, small legs broken but still running with an animalistic need to bite and infect, snarling and growling…

"Kid, move it!" Anakin was snapped out of the stupor by Derek shoving him roughly to the left, and then taking out a mutt that had been prepared to rip open his ankle. The soldier then took out the little girl and the other three mutts before turning to him – not angry but concerned. "Don't think about them!" he said, having to shout above the noise of the battle. "Don't think about who they used to be, hear me? These things won't hesitate to rip you apart alive."

Anakin nodded quickly, and then Derek was grabbing his arm and they were both running towards the staircase. "We gotta start moving downwards!" he added. "You're gonna stick with me!"

The air was completely clogged with screeches, the roar of the ships' engines, the sound of constant gunfire. Anakin managed to look over his shoulder to see Jason and Rex shooting side-by-side, and Obi-Wan was just beginning to slide down his rope. The mutts kept coming, some even jumping from the nearby rooftops, but mostly coming from the doorway that he and Derek were now targeting. Jason shot him a look and then mouthed the words "I'll be right there."

A scream pierced the air, a howl that caused everyone to stop, paralyzed, and turn to see Match get dragged down by five or six mutts. "Go!" the clone screamed at the top of his lungs. "Get away!"

Match dragged himself painfully away from the rest of the team, covered in open bite wounds, and flicked the top of one of his grenades.

The explosion sent body parts flying into the air and blood splaying, both from Match and the mutts.

"Move, don't look back, just move!" Derek shoved Anakin forward, and the two proceeded on their path towards the doorway. Both their guns rattled and coughed up bullet after bullet, aiming mostly for the heads of the vicious creatures. "Get a charge ready!" Derek hollered, and Anakin used one hand to unclip a grenade from his military belt.

He let it fly, using the Force to send it straight into the center of the mob. Another explosion, more gore, more screams. Anakin spun around and used a round-house kick on a mutt that had gone after Derek's legs.

For a few split seconds, the doorway was clear and wide open. "Go! Now, go!" Derek and Anakin burst forward, several others behind them, covering their backs.

Inside the doorway was a metal grated staircase, similar to an indoor fire escape, leading down for about four levels before merging into a shining white staircase that was now stained with blood and grime.

Derek used the light on his rifle and swung the beam both up and down before motioning for the others to follow him. "Clear so far." He glanced downwards and noticed the twentieth floor door was open. _That's where they're coming from. _"Alright, we're going in!"

Anakin close behind him, Derek charged in, quickly beginning to jump down the metal stairs two at a time.

Yellow eyes shot open, out of the darkest corners and the deepest shadows. The mutts began crawling and stumbling towards their next victims, snarling and baring their teeth, howling in starvation and anticipating the slaking of their bloody thirst.

Derek threw another charge before whipping out his machine gun again. "C'mon, let's move it!" he shouted above the noise to the others above. Anakin reached out to use the Force, then remembering that the mutts were immune to it, took out his own firearm and shot five down.

"Guys, look out!" Jason's voice hollered from above, and Derek turned to see a dozen or so mutts coming at them from behind. Seconds later, a bright azure blade swept down in front of them and cut several of the railings, causing them to collapse and block the wave of monsters. Anakin looked up and saw Obi-Wan call his laser sword back to him as he quickly motioned for them to move on.

Derek was the first to reach the open door, and hurled a smoke charge through it, wincing a bit at the chaotic screams that poured from the hall. Thick gray fog clouded everyone's visions to the point that they were blind except for the brief, painful flashes that made your head swim from the firearms.

Slowly, the screams died off, as did the smoke. Once the air was clear enough to see through easily, none of the team could suppress the gasps or groans that followed the sight they laid eyes upon.

Before them lay a long, dark hallway, the green and white tiles ugsome shades of black, gray, and blood red. Trash littered the ground, along with what seemed to be remains of old victims. The air was still and heavy with a pungent odor, thick as if it was trying to suffocate the newcomers.

Derek swallowed hard, and then motioned for everyone to start moving forward. He kept Anakin at his side, and Jason managed to make his way to the front so that he was directly behind the pair, quickly informing the younger Jedi that Obi-Wan was helping Ax and Rex watch their rear.

"Now remember, team…" Derek's voice was lower than a whisper but still seemed to echo through the halls. "…We're shutting that door right there. That means we're now trapped in here. If you think running with your tail between your legs back to the roof will work, it won't. You'll just be trapped, because by now, Kix will have pulled up the ropes to protect the ships. So I don't want any babies." Derek gave the signal, and slowly, Obi-Wan shut the twentieth floor door, trapping them in but also keeping other mutts out.

Derek nodded slowly, biting his lip. "Well then – let's go meet our neighbors."

They plowed through wave after wave of mutts, clearing each room one by room. Derek and Anakin mostly took the lead, with the others falling in the middle and Obi-Wan always taking out any stragglers that tried to come at them from the rear. The darkness was in the mutts favor, but each had a special UV light attached to their firearms, so they weren't completely blind. They shot down one after another, and after forty-five minutes, the group cleared the back staircase and moved on to nineteenth floor. An hour there, then Level Eighteen.

By now everyone was panting and sweating but still moving with a swiftness that only the adrenaline of survival and fear could provide. The air seemed to choke their lungs, filled with smells of decay and rotten things. The farther they went, the darker it seemed to get. The UV lights were now stinging the eyes, any efforts to be stealthy were now shoved out the door by everyone's coughs and gags. Twenty or so mutts came charging up the staircase at the sound of Lynn vomiting over the railing.

When Derek forced open the eighteenth door, everyone immediately began stumbling backwards as a thick fog started hammering them. Immediately, Anakin found himself on his knees, coughing uncontrollably, unable to find a clean breath as the smog surrounded them, carrying the unbearable stenches of mutt and deceased bodies along with other foul, unnamable things. He heard, somewhere in the back of his mind, what seemed like Karis's voice shouting above the hacking of the group, but he couldn't make it out; because suddenly his eyes caught something. No, someone. Standing in the middle of the hall, amongst the swirling deadly fog, was a woman in a tattered gray dress, with stringy white hair and eyes that were made of little black pools.

Death.

And suddenly, he couldn't breathe at all. He felt himself choking, but even then his eyes were glued to the demon in the hall, as she stared at him and then actually smiled.

_"You can't stop me, Chosen One."_

Another devilish grin, a mocking laugh that pierced his mind…

…and then Derek's face was in front of his own, ripping something off his belt before shoving it in his face. Anakin panicked for a minute, pushing the older man away, until he felt the strange object get strapped over his head, and his mind cleared enough to hear Derek shouting at him. "Kid, can you hear me? Breathe for crying out loud!"

Snapped out of the daze, Anakin desperately drew in a shaky breath, choking with relief when he gasped in crisp oxygen, and realized the strange object over his face was his military gas mask.

Derek was staring at him in bewilderment and shock. Slowly, Anakin's senses returned, and he made out the sound of gunfire behind him, mutt screeches, and just plain confusion as people stumbled around. He became aware that he was lying on his side on the metal grated platform that led to the stairs, and that Derek and Jason were on their knees by his side.

"Anakin, are you okay?" Jason asked, voice slightly muffled by the gas masks that everyone already had strapped on their faces. "The fog is chemical – that's why Karis ordered everyone to put on their masks – she recognized it immediately."

Ax, who was standing nearby, shot them a strange look. "What the hell, guys?!"

Jason shot him an irritated glare as Obi-Wan fell to his knees beside the group. Immediately, his eyes danced with worry as he looked his partner over for injuries. _"Anakin, are you okay?"_

Anakin couldn't have been more relieved to feel his Master's soothing presence fill his mind. _"I'm okay… It's fine. I-I'll explain later"_

Obi-Wan frowned but nodded before turning to Derek and Jason. "We can't stay here, and it looks like we'll have to wait 'till tomorrow to decontaminate this level."

Derek nodded. "Agreed, general. Let's seal off this door for now and make our way back up."

"Yeah, and let's deal with our friends as well," Jason added, motioning to the continuous wave of mutts that the others were barely holding back.

Everyone got to their feet, and Obi-Wan pulled Anakin into a standing position, still eyeing him worriedly. _"Are you sure you're alright?"_

The Knight was pretty sure he looked as terrible as he felt, but he managed the barest of smiles. _"Yea, I'm okay"_

Obi-Wan wasn't convinced but he dropped the interrogation for the moment at the sound of Derek shouting, "C'mon, kiddies, we've got to move!"

Coughing, weakened and shaken, the Colony forced their way through the wave of mutts. The eighteenth door was temporarily welded shut to keep out the gas that still swirled around, and once that was completed, Lynn and Josh quickly placed several devices onto the walls. The team moved up onto the upper floor and Josh activated them by remote.

A vibrating red ray shield appeared, cutting off the team from the lower levels and the remaining mutts from coming up any further.

The roof and upper two levels were secure.

For a long fifteen minutes, everyone just stood in the stairwell, listening to the muffled screams of the mutts below that kept ramming into the ray shield only to be shocked with high electricity and forced back. Parts of them ended up burnt back but they just kept trying and trying to reach them, snarling at the prey that were just out of their reach and howling in fury.

After a period of silence broken only by everyone's pants, sighs, and the occasional groan and mumbled profanity, Derek straightened and nodded. "Alright then. We can't just wait around here socializing. Nathan, go on up and signal Kix to land the ships on the rooftop. The rest of you… We've got to decide how we're going to set up our home base."

"It's probably best to keep it on the upper levels," one clone spoke up. "Too many mutts on ground level for my liking."

Derek nodded. "Anyone object to that? No? Okay then, we set up on the twentieth floor. That way we have quick access to the roof as well. We need to people for garbage duty, someone to help with all electrical stuff and whatnot, and others to go through our supplies. It's time for some home makeover, and I don't mean Karis and Inya hanging up prissy little curtains."

Soon enough, tasks were appointed: Derek and Anakin would work on trying to get some ray shields and other defense systems set up. Tomorrow they would go down together and work on the generators once the other levels were cleared. Obi-Wan, Karis, and Inya were to help Kix and Nathan unload the supplies from the ships, and the rest needed to begin getting the worst health-hazards out of the rooms and halls.

Slowly the tasks were carried out. The twelfth floor had suffered less damage than most, but the rotting stench was still strong and it was decided everyone would keep on the gas masks until 'garbage duty' was carried out.

The main communications room was located on the twelfth floor, so there was plenty of equipment to work with. Electricity was still offline, but large storage batteries had been brought.

"Well, here we are." Derek finished breaking down the doors, and he and Anakin stood in the middle of dusty, dirty room. It had been on lockdown, so at least no mutts came barreling out to attack them. No bodies either, which was a real treat.

"I heard you're a bit of a technology expert," the soldier commented as they began digging through rubble, dust, dirt, and scraps. "Think you can get this hospital running again? I mean, with power and all?"

Anakin careful swiped a bunch of broken glass off a holo-table and frowned. "I don't know – I can repair some, but the amount of damage that's been done…"

"Could be beyond any restoration," Derek finished. "So you tell me what can't be fixed for its original purpose and I'll chuck it into the salvage pile."

They worked in silence for several minutes, occasionally the quiet being interrupting by Anakin tossing Derek a ruined projector or computer.

After about fifteen minutes, though, Derek's voice broke through the quiet. "You okay, kid?"

Anakin glanced over at him. "Yeah… Why?"

"What happened back there? With the whole gas thing?"

It was obvious he was just worried and inquiring, but Anakin still turned uncomfortably and shook his head. "Even I don't really know; but… Thanks, anyway. You know, for what you did back there."

Clearing his throat, Derek nodded slowly as he returned to examining and old data base. "Yeah, don't mention it."

After another few minutes of silence, he added, "You remind me of my brother, you know."

The Knight looked up, raising an eyebrow as Derek continued, "His name's Cal. Went MIA once Yaazix-5 was invaded. He's a bit older than you, but you've definitely got his personality." He straightened and shrugged, clearing his throat again. "Yeah, so…"

"Sounds like a good man," Anakin replied.

"He is. He is, and he would've been the first to volunteer for this crazy mission. Could never keep him away from danger, he would just rush right in there." A sigh. "Sure do hope he's got enough excitement to keep him busy, wherever he is."

Slowly, the scorching sun that fried Coruscant lowered itself, replaced by a moon that shone its eerie white rays upon the planet, highlighting the yellow eyes that began appearing more and more frequently at the scent of fresh meat. The communication room was cleared out, and though nothing advanced could be repaired in a few hours, Anakin got battery-operated ray shields over the doors and the heavy metal lockdown plates were activated and lowered over the windows. It was decided that 'home base' would center around the old twelfth floor cafeteria, which, once cleaned out, looked similar to a small gymnasium. Bodies of victims and mutts were piled onto the rooftop to be burned later on, once the hospital was more secured. Supplies was stocked up in the lounge room, medical equipment set up in the lounge. In the hours they were on Coruscant, the Colony had a pretty basic central working by the time night fell.

"And this is what we shall call this room!" Derek announced as they all entered the cafeteria, now set up with cots, some equipment, and weapons covering one wall. "This is Central! Everyone, pick a bed, any bed."

Once everyone was settled, the doors were sealed shut and locked with ray shields. Emergency lockdown was activated, and only the eerie red bulbs in the ceiling provided light. They ate rations, and established guard duty.

"I'll take first watch," Jason offered.

Everything was divided evenly. Space to sleep. Water to wash up. Ash, blood, grime, and Force-knows-what-else was wiped off faces with rags. Heavy armor stripped to t-shirts and light kakis. With the screeches of the mutts blocked by the door seals, there was an awkward silence throughout the group as the events of the day caught up to them.

The main question that entered each mind was: _What the hell am I doing here?_

And absolutely no one had a satisfying answer.

Anakin collapsed onto a cot in the farthest corner, wincing as he rammed the shoulder that was bruised from when he must've collapsed during the gas incident. Flashes of Death, smiling, laughing, mocking him ran through his mind, and he squeezed his eyes shut tight, blocking the images.

"Anakin?"

The Knight looked up to see Obi-Wan sit down on the cot directly next to him. The Master watched his former apprentice with concerned eyes as he laid down, still facing the younger Jedi. "Anakin, are you okay?"

Instantly, those bright blue eyes were drowned in misery.

Obi-Wan sighed quietly. "I wish I could tell you it'll be alright," he whispered. "I really do."

Anakin stared before biting his lip. "I know," he answered, voice equally quiet. "Master, what are we going to do?"

Obi-Wan Kenobi had never been very good at strategizing – that was his partner's specialty. He was the Negotiator. He took things as they came. But that tactic was failing him so far, so he switched to the more convicted part of him, that tiny corner in his mind that had hardened from the horrors he had just seen and the pain he saw flashing across his best friend's face.

"We survive," he stated firmly. "And then we beat this thing."

And the night dragged on with that heavy feeling lingering in the air, weighing the atmosphere down. Midnight. Everything silent until Jason, sitting in a corner on watch, picked up an old comlink and began speaking into it; quietly. But his voice seemed to echo through the silent room.

"Jason Dean speaking. This is log entry #1. As I said before, I am Jedi Knight Jason Dean of the Galactic Republic, and my current position is Standards Hospital, Coruscant. Ten o'clock at night. I don't have a camcorder or anything, so I'm using my old comlink. Hopefully, these logs can be turned into messages or transmissions if needed. If we don't return to Naboo alive, that is, you'll at least know what happened to us…"


	10. Securing Home Base

Chapter 3: Securing Home Base

* * *

><p><strong>DATE: 507/45876**

"Force-damn it, shoot them in the head!"

"Defensive positions, now!"

"Use the blasters, they're safer."

And the rest of the mutts poured through.

Anakin couldn't tell which was more horrifying: the fact that there were probably hundreds of mutts pouring through the doorway and trapping them in Central, or the way they **_looked_**. Burnt black all over, rotten flesh turned into charcoal, eyes mostly just hollow, bloody holes.

"Those kriffing things ran right through the ray shields!" Josh shouted from somewhere to the right. "Right through!"

"Keep it together!" Derek hollered above the noise. "Short bursts of ammo, don't let panic run our supplies to the ground!"

"Look at them all!" Nathan exclaimed, as if he hadn't heard the man. "How we gonna stop those things? Look at 'em!"

Panic was beginning to take over as the mutts kept coming, wave after wave of the vile creatures pouring through the door. The air was becoming polluted with the ringing of the firearms and the screams of the animals. Derek, Obi-Wan and Jason were in the front, while the others took cover behind beds and other objects.

Still, the monsters kept coming. People began coughing and hacking, smoke and smog building up. The ray shields had been knocked out, so Central was now wide open.

"We have to seal that door!" Derek hollered. "Any ideas?"

Obi-Wan found himself slipping into the Force and contacting Anakin. _"You have anything?"_

He had been a strategic mastermind during the Clone War. Anakin fought off his growing fear and studied their situation, surroundings, and what they'd have to do to hold off the mutants.

Something in his mind clicked. He yelled through the Force, _"Master, see the loose ceiling tiles above the door?"_

_"Yes"_

_"Bring it down!"_

Movements synchronized perfectly, both Jedi outstretched their hands and accessed the Force, shooting the powerful energy not at the mutts but at the roof above them. The heavy steel tiles fell easily, crushing the mutts beneath and securing the doorway. Dust blew into the air, temporarily blinding everyone, and sending them tumbling backwards.

For a few long, dragged out moments, nobody moved or spoke.

Then…

"What the hell?!"

Ax's voice rang out furiously. The soldier stormed over to Anakin's position and roughly shoved the other man backwards. "You were supposed to secure this room! You said they couldn't get through!"

"How was I supposed to know they'd crawl through the shields?" Anakin immediately protested once his shock melted away. "I didn't think…"

"We all almost died 'cause you 'didn't think'!"

"Don't blame me!"

"I **_am_** blaming you, damn it!" Ax had everyone else riled now. "Who put you in charge of defenses anyway?!"

"Enough, **_everyone_**!" Derek snapped; but no one seemed to hear him.

"No one knew those things could get through the ray shields," Jason argued at Ax, jumping to Anakin's defense. "Not even you."

"But why was a **_kid_** put in charge of security anyway?"

"Shut up, Ax," Karis groaned.

"No, I think he's got a point," Lynn spoke up.

Soon, shouts and bickering were echoing through the room. Arguments drowned out Derek and Obi-Wan's attempts to calm to group down.

_This was what I had been afraid of_, Obi-Wan thought grimly. _The stress is making us turn on each other_. "Everyone has to calm down!"

No one listened – at least, not until Derek was forced to jump on top of one of the cots and shout out, "**_ENOUGH_**!" at the top of his lungs.

The harshness of his voice and the firm tone shocked everyone into stunned silence and submission.

Derek wore a deep scowl and frowned down at them. "We're not here to play the blame game," he said hotly. "So all of you stop snapping at each other. Right now. What just happened is nobody's fault but the mutts'; but if you really must blame someone, blame me. I ordered those shields to be put up."

"But he's the technology expert," Ax retorted, still glaring at Anakin. "He should've known…"

"How was I supposed to know?" Anakin cut in, frowning just as angrily. "I don't know any more about these creatures than you do."

"Stop it!" Jason's voice exclaimed. "We can't be fighting with each other! We're all a team here – we need to act like it. All of us."

Slowly, eventually, heads began to nod, including a still steaming Ax.

Derek looked over each face, crossing his arms. "Tomorrow we're taking the rest of this building and making this our official home. We're all the Colony, and we're all in this together now. If we don't start acting like it, none of us will leave here alive."

More nods, coming more easily this time. Derek jumped down, pleased, and Obi-Wan pointed to the barricade. "Tonight we'll have two guards, and tomorrow we'll restore power and fix those doors. Rest of you get back to your cots…"

"…we've got work to do tomorrow."

**xXx (The Next Morning) xXx**

_Jason Dean, log entry #3. Last night brought our situation into full light. We're not just at war with the mutts – we're fighting off growing tension amongst ourselves. I have to admit my main concern is with Ax. Something just doesn't feel right about him. He's a hothead, and that makes me nervous. The way he snapped at Anakin last night, and then started the full blown fight amongst us all… It makes me uneasy. We need to be a team. All of us. An eye kept on him from now on will be necessary; the last thing we need to deal with is a trouble maker._

_I can see the morning sun begin to rise. Hot and dry, like Tatooine. So much has changed, and we've only been here less than 24 hours. I can only imagine the horrors the morning will bring._

_One can't help but wonder who will survive the day. All of us? None of us? I had mentioned before that not everyone has a happy ending._

_And unfortunately, that includes even the strongest of us…_

5:30 in the morning, and starch yellow rays of light burned down on the ruins of a world once known as Coruscant.

Jason Dean and Josh sat propped up against the front wall, guns in hand. Everyone else lay exhausted on their cots, sound asleep. Josh looked around the room. "Should we wake them?" he asked.

Jason put his log comm down and thought a bit. "Give 'em a few more minutes. Anakin and Derek took a long shift for us anyway."

Fifteen minutes later ticked by before Jason finally began shaking people awake. Groaning, the Colony stirred and awakened to their first day at 'home'.

"Morning, sunshines," Derek yawned as he slapped on his camo jacket and traditional black baseball cap, worn backwards.

"I already hate this place," Lynn mumbled.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were some of the first to dress, and took seats near Jason and Derek.

"Anything happen during watch?" Derek inquired as he began pulling out a few cans of hash.

"Nothing," Josh replied. "Couldn't even hear those things. Must've been sleeping like babies."

"Or trying to find another way in here," Inya spoke up.

"They're stupid animals," Ax countered.

"Inya thinks these things are fairly intelligent," Josh explained to the Jedi and Derek. "Maybe even smarter than they had been before the virus took over their bodies."

"I find that hard to believe," Nathan voiced.

"I saw these things close up," Inya stated. "When Dr. Fuzio was transformed. They're not just brainless zombies like in a horror film. They're mutants."

"I don't care if they can recite Pi forwards and backwards," Rex said, who had remained silent most of their time on Coruscant. "I'm blasting 'em as if they were droids."

"Just remember that when a droid bites you, you don't get turned into one," Derek warned.

Lynn made a face. "Droids don't bite."

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan. "Do we have a plan for today?" he whispered.

The Master frowned. "You'd have to ask Derek. Seems he's taken over this operation."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Of course," he answered quickly. "This is more of a military mission, and he's certainly better for this role."

"What role? Who?" Derek inquired, tuning into their conversation.

"Obi-Wan's telling me how you're now den mommy," Anakin said, managing a light turn and slight smile – the first in a while, Obi-Wan noted.

That brought a laugh. "I think, General Kenobi, you are mixing me up with yourself."

"No Derek, you're doing a fine job keeping this mission together. Keep at it."

Derek grinned as Nathan spoke up. "Well then, **_mommy_**, you gonna serve out that hash or what? Your babies are starving."

The quick, rationed meal was served, and everyone spread out or sat in small groups to eat.

Anakin moved over to a rather solitary corner, quickly followed by Obi-Wan. After shoveling a few spoonful's of food in, the Master spoke up. "So, are you going to talk to me?"

Anakin knew what he wanted: an explanation for yesterday's incident, with the gas and his collapse. He shifted uncomfortably and sighed. "I don't really have anything to say." _Lies, lies, lies…_

"Tell me what happened yesterday."

"I don't know."

"You know something. Anakin, I want to help you…"

"Master, please…"

"Is it about Ahsoka?" the older Jedi asked suddenly.

Anakin's eyes widened. "No. No, this isn't about her."

"Then what?" Obi-Wan furrowed his brow, gray eyes pleading. "Anakin, we're going to be here for a fair while; and you can't hide away the truth forever." He shook his head slowly. "Anakin, please, let me try to help you."

He'd used those same words the day Anakin had admitted to be suffering after effects from Ahsoka's death. That had been when Obi-Wan took him to the Soul Healers, and slowly, the trauma ebbed away. Anakin looked at his Master and all he saw was sincere concern. He sighed. "You remember those nightmares I'd been having, before MAV hit?"

"Yes." It seemed so long ago, but yes, he remembered.

Another sigh. "They were about all this – the virus, the apocalypse, and some kind of demon that calls herself Death. And yesterday, I thought I saw her, in that hallway."

Obi-Wan's frown deepened even more, if possible. "You had a vision?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Did you have any more last night?"

"No." Anakin leaned forward, elbows on knees, and bowed his heads. "I don't know what to do."

Obi-Wan placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, grateful that the others had moved away to give them space. He thought hard for several moments before speaking. "I think the Force is trying to use you, Anakin. Warn us all by giving you these visions."

Anakin's voice was bitter. "Like a psychic?"

"What?"

He shook his head, straightening. "Nothing. Just something someone said."

Just then, Derek came over and gave a nod of his head. "We've got a plan for today."

The plan was similar to their last night strategy: Team A leads while B watches the rear. Gas masks would be worn the entire time, and pairs would be buddied up. Obi-Wan hesitantly agreed to Derek's suggestion that Anakin lead with him, while he go with Inya. Jason with Lynn, Rex with Karis, Kix with Josh…

"Remember to conserve ammo," Derek stated as they finished strapping on the rest of their armor. "We go slow and steady, no sense in wasting bullets. Everyone stays together or at least with their partner. Our objective is to clear each floor here and then the basement so Anakin can give us some power by fixing up those generators."

Masks snapped in place, gloves slipped on, and slowly, the barrier was taken down, freeing the doorway.

No one in sight, not a single mutt in the hall.

_That just makes it all the more creepy_. They proceeded through, and then crept to the open stairwell, an eerie atmosphere already settled on the ghost hospital.

Wisps of the toxic gas lingered in the air of the stairwell. "Remember… slowly," Derek whispered.

Slow did they go. Not a mutt to be seen, which just made everyone more worried. As they trekked through the gas-fogged eighteenth floor, the white smoke obscured most vision, the UV rays doing little assist.

They were six rooms in when they came. Pouring out of each door, screeching and snarling. All of them in ragged clothing, practically bald, eyes dripping blood and rank yellow foam leaking from the crooked mouths. They came running, jaws hanging open by torn shreds of flesh, stumbling and howling.

Bullets plowed down the first wave, the noise bouncing off all the walls. The gas kept everything dark except for the flashes of light from the guns and the musty rays of sun that managed to come through the closed blinds that covered the old windows.

It didn't take long for most of the group to start separating unintentionally. Anakin remained on Derek's heels, but he couldn't see anyone else. "We lost them!" he called out.

Derek paused and looked around quickly. They had been running hard for several minutes; not a mutt or Colony member was within earshot.

"Damn." Now in the seventeenth floor, Derek swiped off his mask and rubbed the sweat off his face. "That ain't good." He looked around some more. "We should head for the stairwell. This floor is clear now anyway."

Anakin was more than happy letting Derek give the orders. He followed the soldier through the halls, using red markings that had been applied to the walls with spray paint as guides.

The black grated stairs clanged as they stepped onto them. "We'll wait here for them; hopefully, they're sticking with their partners."

Suddenly, there was a furious howl from above. Anakin looked up just in time to see Ax wrestling with a mutt on the grated platform above.

Then, the support rails snapped, Ax and the mutt crashed down on Anakin, and all three fell off the stairs and crashed onto another platform eight floors below.


	11. Clearing Standards

Chapter 4: Clearing Standards

* * *

><p>"<strong><em>Anakin<em>**!"

The scream was ripped from his throat before he even registered it was forming. All at once, a million images buzzed through Derek's mind, most of them containing a blonde man a few years younger than he, falling and screaming as the ground collapsed underneath him on that Force-damn mission only months ago… The mission that registered his younger brother Cal MIA, most likely dead, vanished while trying to evacuate the rest of Yaazix-5 before MAV took over completely.

He'd be damned if he lost Anakin Skywalker, the young Jedi he'd allowed himself to grow protective over, just because that bastard Ax couldn't handle himself. He cocked his gun and made ready to shoot that kriffing mutt as soon as he had a clear shot.

Anakin, Ax, and the mutt hit the platform with brutal force, Anakin just barely having time to use the Force to soften the blow before his right side collided with the black, metal grate with an angry howl from the mutt.

Ax rolled over like a rag doll towards the side, nearly falling right off the stairs. He slumped down, unmoving, while the mutt immediately got back on its feet and turned towards the Jedi, snarling and snapping its jaws.

Anakin's heart leapt into his throat, and he choked on strained breaths.

Rex.

The clone captain that had so faithfully served under him during the War now had his helmet ripped off, bloody scratches and obvious bite marks maiming the dark skin of his lower jaw. Bloodshot, constricted pupils eyed their former general hungrily, and Anakin found himself temporarily paralyzed, gaping stupidly at the Rex-thing.

_Shit._

By now, Obi-Wan, Inya, and several others had poured onto the stairwell, already heading downwards, with Derek taking each step two at a time and hollering at the top of his lungs.

Anakin slowly managed to sit up, wincing at the pain stabbing the nerves in his shoulder and thigh as the Rex-thing continued baring its teeth and hissing, dark red beads of drool dripping from the former clone's jaw.

And then it lunged.

"Shit!" Anakin found his instincts kicking in, and allowed auto-pilot to take over. His body immediately rolled over once; and then he was off the platform, falling once again. Hands shot up, and he desperately grabbed onto the lower guard railing, using the momentum to perform an acrobatic flip that turned him around and hurled him back up to 'safety'. The Rex-thing, not as quick as the Jedi, toppled downwards, still-gloved hands blindly clawing for a handhold. It crashed down in a standing position several floors down, both legs smashing upon impact, breaking and shattering the bones. After that, it simple rolled around furiously, unable to stand but still snarling at the would've-been-prey that kneeled shakily on the platform, staring down at him.

"Anakin!"

Surprisingly, Obi-Wan had beaten Derek to the younger man, and the Master now slid to his knees next to his partner. Inya went to Ax, who lay unconscious across the platform, and everyone else remained standing awkwardly amongst them, listening to the growing growls and groans of the mutts as they awaken from the noise.

"Damn it." Derek was brought out of shocked stupor by Anakin's pained hiss, brought out by Obi-Wan gently probing his injured shoulder. He moved over and crouched down between the Jedi, with Jason close behind him.

"I'm really hoping you didn't crack your collar bone," he heard Obi-Wan murmur. He also caught Anakin's, "Don't get your hopes up"; which was completely unnecessary, because no one did that these days. Who dared?

More outrageous screeches came from the Rex-thing below, and no one hesitated to flinch violently at the noise. Rising to his feet after shooting Anakin one last glance, Derek crossed his arms and glared at the others, voice grave and he spoke up, "What. Happened." Now that he looked closely, he saw three more clones were also missing from the Colony. _Damn_.

No one spoke for several minutes, until finally, Josh's wavering voice was heard. "W-We were ambushed. Up there… There were too many of them, a-and… and Rex told us to run a-and he'd hold them off…"

"You were supposed to stay with your partners!" Derek all but roared, catching the attention of everyone. Inya cringed a bit at the high volume as Derek's flushed face glared at each of them. "I want a play by play. Right. Now."

"You and Anakin separated first!" Nathan exclaimed, defending the rest of the group. "You guys ran off ahead and left us to fend for ourselves!"

"We fought to the best of our abilities, but when we were overwhelmed, Rex told us to go. We didn't doubt in him," Josh added. "So we ran for the stairwell. He must've got bit, because he came at us from behind only seconds later, and got three of the clones."

Derek frowned, but didn't say anything in reply. Instead, he reached up and swiped the black cap off his head, running another hand over his short, military-cut hair. Without turning around, he called over his shoulder, "How's Anakin?"

His response was a grunt and the sound of Obi-Wan helping his former apprentice to his feet. "I'm fine." The younger man sounded pained, but his voice was steady and firm. "No bones broken, miraculously."

Derek gave a single nod, then cocked an eyebrow at Lynn. "And Ax?"

Lynn looked up from where he was slapping Ax's cheeks. "Knocked out, no concussion, though. Rex, um… he softened the blow for the two of them, I guess…"

Another curt nod, and then Derek slapped his blaster, cocking it, and tightening his grip around the hot metal. "Alright then. Someone use their canteen and pour some water over sleeping beauty. Everyone up and ready to finish this damn mission in five."

**xXx (Five Hours Later) xXx**

"Shoot 'em bastards!"

Bullets sprayed everywhere, along with small flash bombs and an occasional blast from Nathan's portable flame thrower.

"I want every single mutt in here on the ground!" Derek's voice never lessened in power as he led the others through the basement of Standards hospital, not a single bullet going to waste from his blaster as each struck skull after skull, mutt falling after mutt. "Get to the generators!"

Hearing the order, Jason Dean tensed. "Shit. That's where all the kriffing things are coming from!" He shot down another gasoline-covered creature, then stomped down hard on its head for good measure.

Obi-Wan slowly made his way forward through the group, until he was side-by-side with Derek. "What if they hit the generators? We don't have time to repair bullet holes along with restoring power?"

Derek frowned, and took advantage of the temporary lapse in mutt waves rushing at them to think about their situation. Almost immediately, he replied, "Who are our best shooters?"

Obi-Wan glanced backwards at the others. "Anakin, Jason, and I use the Force to help our aim. You, of course, and Ax and Josh. Karis isn't too shabby…"

"Alright. We're going in there, and the others won't even think about pulling the trigger unless it's to save our asses. They'll stay out here, and I think you should too. I need a Jedi to help them keep their cool."

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan managed to sneak a tendril of Force into the other man's mind, and his frown deepened upon feeling the high, buzzing adrenaline, the worry, the concern, and the fact that the man was willing to do anything to just get this kriffing mission over with already. _Don't panic, Derek, we can't afford to lose you now. _

Derek shot down two more mutts and then slammed the butt of his rifle into their skulls. "Hell, I'm sure! Go spread the orders! I see the doors to the generator room – it's wide open." _Yes, I'm sure. I have to be sure. We can't lose anymore today – ever. But that's wishful thinking… damn this virus!_ He kicked another mutt on the side of the head and sent a round of led and acid into the others.

As soon as Anakin heard the orders, doubt erupted in his mind. "He wants what?"

The mutts were still coming in large waves; but Anakin and his mentor had grown accustomed to speaking to each other while fighting large numbers. Obi-Wan had no problem answering while shooting down the deformed creatures that kept running at them with rabid insanity. "We can't risk any damage to the generators!" It was still rather annoying, however, to have to shout above the noise.

"He can't split the group up! That leaves us even more vulnerable! If the generators are damaged…!" Anakin continued to protest.

"What other choice does he have?"

Obi-Wan risked a glance at the younger Jedi, and did his best to give what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "It'll work out, Anakin, don't worry." _I remember you used to be the one reassuring **me** during hard missions_. He noticed the torn expression, and sent a gentle pulse through the Force. "Don't worry about me," he added, knowing suddenly that Anakin was mainly against Obi-Wan being outside with a few rookie shooters.

Anakin blew off the head of a nearby mutt, rewarded with guttural growls and then the sounds of wet flesh hitting the cement floor. "You're okay with this plan?"

_No, I'm not. _"I have confidence in Derek. Just… just make sure you stay next to Jason, alright?" _Derek's sudden behavior is concerning me, but…_

"Fine."

And then Derek's voice swam over to them. "Alright, I need all my shooters up here with me, right now!"

Anakin sent his Master one last glance before running off to join his team. Almost immediately after he was out of sight, Obi-Wan reached out through the Force and connected with the boy's mind; not enough to distract him, but he could get a pretty clear picture of what was going on.

The team ran into the generator room, which happened to be pitch black and filled with the brim with monsters.

He heard snippets and pieces of conversation through the Force, but didn't manage to try to get a clearer image lest he distract Anakin from the mission; but he managed to conclude Anakin had partnered with Jason, and that soothed him a bit. _Jason. I trust Jason. He's a good man, I trust Jason._

_Does that mean I don't trust the others though?_

This whole nightmare felt as if hell was closing in on itself while they were still trapped inside, the flames closing in… Obi-Wan closed his eyes just a moment, just to try to quell the fear threatening to choke him like an unrealistic, paranormal nightmare.

But the deafening explosion that came seconds later snapped him into full, terrified reality, as he realized the flames were **_very real_**, the generator room on fire with oil leaking out into the main area of the basement. And the following explosions, in the room with his **_best friend_**, were laughing at him and dancing, sending him a big, silent, "Fuck you."


	12. To Hell

Chapter 5: To Hell

* * *

><p>"No! No, no, no!"<p>

"Get these flames out, now! Go!"

"Where the hell is Nathan? Nathan!"

Derek groaned, trying to force his eyes open, but utterly unable to do anything but lay there, body paralyzed, unable to move or speak or even open his eyes in the slightest. He was lying on something hard and scorching hot, the heat searing right through his military jacket and cooking his skin.

"Move it, everyone, hurry!"

It sounded like Obi-Wan's voice. Yes, so the team had Obi-Wan to help lead them. Good. These were the last thoughts that ran through his head before unconscious dragged him down.

"C'mon, Lynn, get those med supplies over here, now!"

"There's not enough…"

"Then send someone up to get more from Central, right now!"

And he was oblivious to the world.

**xXx ((The Colony)) xXx**

"Then send someone up to get more from Central, right now!"

It was Nathan's voice, filled with anxiety and fear, that finally snapped Anakin out of whatever daze he'd been trapped in since the explosion. All of a sudden, he was sickeningly aware of the smoke in the room that clogged his lungs, the stabs of pain radiating from several burns along his body, and the fact that the Colony was in full. Blown. Panic.

"We can't afford sending a team up there now…" It was Josh, protesting again.

"We don't need a whole team," Nathan snapped, voice more angry than Anakin had ever heard him. "We've already cleared the whole building! Send two guys up there to get some better med supplies. I need bandages, antibiotics, burn treatments…" He started rattling off a list.

His eyes swept over the room. Derek lay unconscious in one corner, side by side with an equally knocked out Karis, both looking in bad shape. Josh was holding a bloody rag to his face, Jason was nowhere to be seen, and Nathan and Lynn were running around trying to take care of everyone. Each and every person was covered in ash and Force-knows-what-else from the explosion.

Then his eyes rested on the familiar, bearded Jedi Master struggling to help Inya distribute the medical supplies, and part of the choking weight lifted from his chest.

At that moment Obi-Wan turned, and stormy gray eyes clashed with ocean blue; and moments later, the older man was at his side, somehow managing to check all his injuries without breaking eye contact. "Are you alright?" He spoke in a low whisper, already knowing that Anakin was certainly **_not_** alright – and that **_none_** of them probably would ever be **_alright_** again. Still, it was a routine that he and his friend had gone through during the Clone War battles, and hell, they could all use a bit of the past right now.

"I'm fine." Just like the question, the response was automatic, spoken hundreds of times in the Halls of Healing, aboard the _Resolute_'s med-bay, or simply crouched behind a flaming piece of debris while the battle raged on only yards away.

Obi-Wan released a soft snort that spoke "Yeah right", and tenderly began wrapping bandages around the worst of the younger man's wounds – an angry red burn that glared from his upper left arm. "You probably feel as terrible as you look," he said as he ripped off a piece of medical-tape.

Anakin allowed the faintest trace of a smile to appear. "That bad, huh?"

"Count Dooku has seen better days than you right now."

The name of the Sith lord that had once plagued Anakin's nightmares now sent a strange, undecipherable feeling pooling in his gut. Had it really only been a few months ago when he and Obi-Wan were running around the galaxy, chasing Dooku and his stupid droid army? The war and the galaxy of the past seemed like such a distant memory, along with memories of the grand Jedi Order, the Republic, Ahsoka…

He felt a warm, familiar hand ghost over his forehead, and snapped out of his reverie to see Obi-Wan staring at him with concerned eyes, his hand quickly running through Anakin's dirty golden locks of hair as he searched for any head injuries. Taking his pupil's silence as a sign of exhaustion and/or illness, he offered the faintest of smiles. "Just rest now, Anakin," he said, voice barely above a whisper, the same tone he had used when his small, ten-year-old Padawan caught some exotic flu or perhaps a small injury resulting from another wild escapade. _Damn_. What he wouldn't give to have those times back. "I'm going to go with Nathan to grab some supplies from Central," he added. "Lynn will be over here in a sec to check on the rest of your wounds."

Something, very similar to the feeling of liquid metal, churned in his gut when he saw those intense blue eyes, just seconds ago glassy and hazed, suddenly grow wide and full of fear. Fear. Anakin had once been the Hero with **_No_ **Fear. That title was just another ghost now.

"Don't go." The words came out a plea, and Obi-Wan suddenly realized he had never, ever, witness his partner **_plea_** before. "Don't…"

"It's alright, Anakin," he cut in, gently using the Force to send gentle, comforting waves to the boy. "We've cleared the entire building, remember? I'll be back in a few moments."

He only lingered a second more before getting to his feet reluctantly, and jerking his head, gesturing for Nathan that it was time to move.

Anakin watched his mentor move away, and disappear up the stairwell that led out of the basement and into the main part of Standards hospital. And at that moment, he felt something very similar to flat-out-terror grip his heart, sending ice-cold rivers down his spine; and when the heel of Obi-Wan's boot disappeared from view, Death's face appeared before him, yellow teeth exposed from her full smile. Tiny black eyes winked at him, and when Anakin desperately tried to contact his Master, warn him that something horrible, terrible was about to happen, he found the link blocked.

That was his last conscious thought before Death suddenly flew at him and rammed against his chest, causing him to collapse onto his side, unconsciousness plaguing him even as he heard Lynn and someone else screaming his name.

**xXx ((Obi-Wan and Nathan)) xXx**

The halls were empty except for the lingering stench of death in the air, and the grimy pools of **_something_** that squished beneath his military boots. Obi-Wan resisted gagging, and instead used the Force to create some kind of barrier between him and the worst of the smells; and after a moment's thought, spread the wall so it reached Nathan too. The soldier didn't say anything, but Obi-Wan caught the man's eyes flicker over to him for just a second, showing he acknowledged the act from the Jedi and was grateful.

They started out at a paced walk; but by the time they reached the end of the first floor, they were jogging. Then running. Then sprinting. Clanging up and down the metal-grated stairways, slamming doors and not bothering to keep everything "hush-hush", as Derek had ordered earlier. After all, they had cleared all of Standards, right? The doors down below were sealed and shut, and right now, the fact that some of their teammates were seriously injured down below outweighed common sense. Later on, Obi-Wan would curse their ignorance and overconfidence greatly.

It was only when they entered the door just outside the twentieth floor, the hall which led to Central, did Obi-Wan shove his arm out in front of Nathan to stop their movement, and then just stood there, listening. Inside the hall, there were sounds, sounds similar to shuffling feet and a few minor crashing noises, like that of a pot falling against a kitchen floor.

_But the building is empty. But the building is empty. But the building is empty_…

Nathan heard it as well, and muttered a few profanities, quickly cocking his sub-automatic, chewing on his lower lip, shattering Obi-Wan's hopeful illusion that his ears were playing tricks on him. Nathan opened the door, and both men winced as the creaking from the hinges echoed loudly through the hallway.

_But the building is empty. But the building is empty. But the building is empty_…

Denial is a funny thing. The same, stupid, worthless mantra kept rolling through his head even as he pulled out his own weapon, keeping himself positioned side-by-side with the brown-haired soldier next to him. Even when he heard a few guttural growls that could only one thing, he kept begging the Force: _Please. Let me be wrong._

_Cause the building is empty. The building is empty. The building is empty. _

_We cleared it. We checked every kriffing nook and cranny. We cleared it. We cleared it. We cleared it…_

There was the sound of scrambling feet, and Obi-Wan's heart jumped into his throat.

They were just two doors away from Central when both he and Nathan noticed something: a( the door to Central was wide open, even though Anakin and Derek had sealed it shut, and there were vicious claw marks scarring the outside.

And b( the door to the **_rooftop_** was also wide open, hot sunlight streaming down into the dust-filled air of the hospital.

The building was **_not_** empty.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure who acted first – it was either he or Nathan. But what he **_did_** know was that suddenly, mutts came crashing through the door, **_out_** of Central, screaming and howling. And then there were bullets everywhere, Nathan himself letting out his own frustrated shout that mingled with the mutts' screeches. By now, the gun in his hands felt automatic, and Obi-Wan didn't have any problem blowing the brains out of the creatures that charged him – something that, admittedly, frightened him in a way. But at the moment, a different kind of horror was clawing at his consciousness, and he could tell from Nathan's sick expression he knew the same thing.

Central had been taken over by the mutts.

He didn't know how long he and Nathan stood there, rooted to the ground, blowing away mutants. Scared to death, with the strong urge to just back away and run; but furious, furious 'cause the one place they had deemed at least partially safe had been infiltrated by these animals. Time stopped meaning anything, as did their surroundings, and fifteen minutes later, bodies blanketed the ground, along with empty shells.

Obi-Wan's eyes fell on the face of one mutt, a blonde woman in a white lab coat, face that may have once been attractive now contorted and shrunk like a rotting gourd, black blotches mottling gray skin, mutilated beyond recognition. It was the hair that caught him, still yellow despite the horrible grime and grease mixed in with it. Silky blonde hair, hair that reminded him of Satine, the pretty young Duchess of Mandalore he had once dreamt about as a young Padawan Learner…

He stopped those thoughts immediately, and locked them up behind carefully guarded mental doors, not to be let out again. At least, not now.

Automatically, as if in a trance, Nathan and he matched strides and strode over to the door of Central, peering in with fearful hesitation. The blinds had been drawn before the Colony started their assignment, so only a few fragments of light shown through; but it was enough.

Cots and blankets were ripped open, the tears and gashes so wide Obi-Wan would've believed it had been a pack of rancors that tore through them. Foul puddles already spread across the tile floors, and one or two mutts growled from where they were pinned down beneath crates of supplies – crates of supplies that now lay spilled open, their contents ransacked. Even the heavy steel chest, with about a gazillion locks on it, lay wide open, the weapons that had been inside crushed and bent. Obi-Wan saw bags of rice, canned goods, survival rations, all spilt out along the ground, mixing with the contaminated ground and puddles and gore.

Neither man moved to speak, too stunned to do anything but gape. Something in the back of Obi-Wan's mind registered that this was bad, super bad, that now the Colony had nothing. Whatever was left in this room was now tainted to the point it would be suicide to use it – who knew how else this horrible virus spread. Everything was gone, everything.

Of course, neither one thought of **_everything_**. At least, not until they heard three chilling explosions ring off. From the rooftop.

**xXx (45 Minutes Later) xXx**

Less than an hour. It took that long for Obi-Wan and Ax to put out the flames from the wreckage. The wreckage that screamed their inevitable doom.

The wreckage that had once been three lifesaving, state-of-the-art, Yaazix-5 military transports. The only working ships that Obi-Wan knew about still on Coruscant.

It took ten minutes to put out the flames – though the dry weather worked against them, Obi-Wan used the Force as an aid. And then another fifteen minutes were spent searching for an explanation to just how those damn-kriffing monsters had managed to get on the rooftop in the first place, raid Central and their ships, destroying everything they had left to help the Colony survive. Nathan had been the one to find the few, staggering metal beams that had once been a sky bridge, broken off in the middle so that it didn't quite reach the lab across the street. The gap broke the sky bridge, yes; but it was not quite so large that the mutts hadn't been able to jump from one side to another. Which, apparently, they had done.

"We're screwed," Nathan had muttered, shaking his head bitterly. "We're so screwed!"

This time, Obi-Wan had to agree with him, hope and rational thinking shattered beyond repair. They were trapped in this hell, for weeks, months, years. Now, the thought that he could spend the rest of his life fighting these awful beasts didn't seem so far away, and it clogged the man with a fear that he'd never, ever experienced before. It was like a monster itself, breaking from the chains that Obi-Wan had used to restrain it, taking over his body, paralyzing him.

But there was something else, something screaming at him from the Force, swirling around at him, telling him to "move, Jedi, move!"

He and Ax, after destroying the remnants of the bridge, had simply collapsed on their knees on the rooftop, both of them understanding their fate without words.

They had no medical supplies. No clean water. No food. No supplies. No ship. No communication with help for any matter of time.

They knelt there, both stunned with fear and horror and every other emotion imaginable; before there were footsteps behind them, rushed ones, followed by Inya bursting onto the rooftop, words already flying out of her mouth for several minutes before she finally realized what was going on.

Obi-Wan didn't really hear what she was happening; until his brain picked out several important pieces of information. Karis was dead. They needed medical help now. They had been getting very worried, and finally sent Inya to find them. Because they needed them down there. They needed **_Obi-Wan_** down there.

Because Anakin had had a seizure.


	13. Till the Credits Roll

Chapter 6: 'Till the Credits Roll

* * *

><p>"What happened?" was the first question out of his mouth as he took the stairs two at a time, landing inside the basement where Lynn had Anakin lying on his side, pale and semi-conscious.<p>

"You tell me," replied Josh from across the room.

Lynn looked up, frowning. "The kid just started seizing for a full two minutes before snapping out of it."

Kneeling by the boy's side, Obi-Wan ghosted a hand over the sweaty, ash-covered brown locks beneath his fingers. "Did he wake up yet?"

"No, but he kept muttering stuff under his breath," Lynn replied. "Kept saying 'they're gone, we're stuck, they're gone for good…'"

"What?" the Master's head shot up, eyes wide. "What did he say?"

"I don't know for sure, but it sounded like they're all gone, we're trapped, or stuck, or something…"

_Oh, Force_. Could he know? Was it possible? No, how could he? No...

"I need to tell you something," Obi-Wan said gravely. "It's about the ships."

**xXx DATE: 5/10/45876 (Three Days Later) xXx**

_Jason Dean here, log entry… I believe it's number four. I can't really say – I've been mumbling to myself over the past day or two just trying to keep my head clear and in the game._

_The clones are dead. Karis. That leaves the Jedi Anakin, Obi-Wan, and myself; the doctor and two scientists, Lynn, Nathan, and Inya; and the soldiers Derek, Josh, and Ax. That's nine of us in all; nine people are supposed to battle a whole world of monsters while fighting for a cure._

_*sigh*_

_I want to be honest. I-I need to be honest… I'm terrified. Absolutely, wholly, with every fiber of my being **terrified**. Because our ships our gone, most of our supplies, and Anakin… he's had two seizures on our time here; and each time, he's said he's seen something. And… and we have to believe him now, because the last time we didn't…_

_First he said he saw the ships blew up before Obi-Wan even announced that news. And then…_

_*mumbling profanities*_

_Then he said he saw Death, the demon sitting on a stone throne, which floated upon a sea of blood. And lying in that blood were bodies of men, women, children… their bodies emaciated and maimed, cut open._

_And then there were people, he said, not sick, not damaged; but their eyes were all white and hollow and they stood by Death's side. And one of them, they handed her a rope, and after pulling on the rope for quite some time, a little girl stepped up, with rope and a collar around her neck._

_And immediately Death flew upon her, and bit her in the neck, and began to…_

_*damn it, damn it, damn it*_

_For such an abomination to occur, if not in a vision then a premonition of the future… for humans to feed this demon fellow people for her to feast upon… For some sort of entertainment? A deal made with the devil? A living horror… a horror… a damn horror show is what we are in now… a story for people to read about and shiver in their seats, tremble in their clothes, the story you **don't** read to your kids for they'll never sleep again…_

_A horror show… one that will never die until we all do. Until every last survivor, every last mutt, has turned to ash that blows in the wind. A damn horror show that will keep on going 'till the credits roll…_

_Until the credits roll._

_"In memory of the lives lost to the sick joke of reality…"_

_Salutes to you, Death, and the greatest prank this galaxy has ever seen._

_*hm*_

_A damn horror show…_

_/…:::SYSTEM MESSAGE:::TRANSMISSION ENDED ABRUPTLY:::REBOOTING SYSTEM:::ATTEMPT REBOOTING SYSTEM:::SYSTEM FAILURE:::…/_

"Jason?"

As the comlink rapidly blinked a small red light, Anakin Skywalker poked his head through the roof door, eyeing the other Jedi curiously. "Are you alright?" he continued.

"Mhm." Not bothering to turn and face the younger man, Jason offered just a small nod of his head, gesturing for the other to come up all the way. He did, Anakin slowly climbing up onto the rooftop, and seated himself next to the older one just as the comlink shut down.

"Still doing those logs?"

Jason lowered his head and blankly stared at the dead machine in his hand. _Battery's nearly dead_. Once again, a simple nod of his head in response before he looked back out at the horizon. Yes there, just a tiny silhouette in the distance, was the Jedi Temple. If he tried hard enough, he could ignore the broken, toppled towers; and for a few moments, it would seem just like what it had once been. His home. He didn't even notice that his mouth was moving automatically. "People need **_some_**_ way_ to know what happened here."

A small shiver racking his body, Anakin drew his knees to his chest, despite the still warm air that lingered in the dull Coruscant atmosphere. From their position on the rooftop of Standards hospital, they could see a good portion of the once majestic planet.

"Do you think they're still okay?" the Knight whispered. "On Naboo I mean. Think… think they're still safe there? That the virus is keeping away…?"

"I think we'd feel it if something had happened," Jason replied slowly, voice lifeless.

"I wish we had some way of contacting them."

"We all do."

A pause.

"Think we'll ever find a real cure for this thing?"

Jason took his time thinking of a true but not dismaying reply, if not for his own sake then to at least lessen that look of agony that he now saw daily on the younger Jedi's face. "We have to keep hoping. If we lose hope in the cure and in Naboo, then we lose our last reasons to live."

"Hm. Do you really believe that?"

Did he? He couldn't answer honestly, couldn't lie… "I don't know." He hadn't realized he said it out loud until the words reached his own ears; and then he winced at the dark shadow that fell across Anakin's face. "I didn't mean…"

"Don't. I know what you mean," was the interrupting reply, murmured through pursed lips.

As sunset began to set on their fourth day on Coruscant, trained eyes could pick out the tiny movements along the broad city landscape. Small shadows scurrying down allies, roaming rooftops. The evening song began reverberating throughout the planet, a harmony of growls, howls, snarls, and screeches.

Behind them, the ceiling door once again opened, this time Obi-Wan Kenobi's exhausted face appearing. "Lock down time," he called over, voice sounding unusually distant and leaden. "We're sealing everything up now."

And by sealing, they meant ray shields, mines, locks, bars, and every other precaution they could imagine. Two heads nodded, and soon, three Jedi descended back into Standards before the door sealed, and then the entry point to Central locked the same way.

Central still remained the cleanest part of the hospital; but unlike the first night, its tiny air of safety had dissolved to bleak nothingness. A few torn blankets on top of extra jackets and clothing replaced cots. Crates had been destroyed, and were thus thrown out with the rest of the trash; which meant tossed off the rooftop into an already filled garbage alley nearby. Few supplies remained, weapons were scarce, and food was nearly out.

_All in four kriffing days_, Jason thought bitterly as he sat down on his own 'bed' – two jackets with a gray sheet strung on top. _Let's see how we do at the end of a week_.

Up ahead, Inya focused on opening the last of their precious food – five cans of processed meat, which she stuck one or two plastic spoons in and handed around for them to share.

He couldn't help but notice how every rather huddled together in moments like this – sitting in one tight group, no longer breaking off in separate parties as they had on the ships and their first night. They all shared 'beds' – or lumps, as Jason preferred – when sitting, and hushed whispers spread across them like an oozing puddle of oil. Once finished with her duty, Inya came and sat next to him, shoving a can of meat in his hands.

"Six bites, then pass it," she instructed quietly. "This is the last of it, and even if all our appetites left days ago, **_try_** to enjoy it." Not spoken harshly – rather a gentle suggestion.

"I'll do my best," he answered in the same manner. "Thanks."

"Mm." She gestured over to where Derek, a thick bandage wrapped around his upper torso, was conversing with Obi-Wan. "Derek's going over strategies – we're all gonna scavenge tomorrow apparently."

_Perfect. Finally get this blasted place cleared out and now we're gonna go out **there**. _"That will be fun."

Inya cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Usually you're a bit more… positive."

"Guess that side died in that explosion."

"Wow. Now that is depressing."

Shoving the can over to where Josh was sitting nearby, Jason cleared his throat and turned back to her, shaking his head slightly. "I have to admit – I'm impressed how well you're handling all of this. You were Dr. Fuzio's assistant, right?"

"Correct. And I saw him rip open his secretary's throat with his teeth."

"And yet… you're managing to hold it together better than I am," said Jason with a wan smile.

Suddenly, a new voice interrupted, "Better than most of us," and Anakin came over, followed by Derek and Obi-Wan. The three sat down next to the conversing pair.

"We have a plan for tomorrow," Derek stated. "And it's not gonna be a walk in the park."

"Well, what do you call what we've been doing now?" Josh called over from where he was eating with Nathan. "A day at the playground?"

"Clearing out Standards will be a piece of cake compared to the fact that we're going out **_there_ **tomorrow," Derek replied sharply. "We need food. We need supplies. And we can't get that here. Coruscant is… **_was_**… home to the Richie Riches of the galaxy – I'm sure one of those well-stocked hogs has got a stash somewhere in their fancy apartments yet to be tainted with mutt juice."

Jason twisted his lips in thought. "Will we all be going out?"

"No way in hell," was the sure reply. "Something happens out there, we can't risk the entire Colony. Team Alpha goes, Team Beta stays."

"And whose Team Alpha?" Inya asked hesitantly.

Obi-Wan spoke up this time. "We'll check with everyone; but main choices are Derek, Nathan, me, Lynn, and Jason." He pretended not to notice the sharp spark that shot up into Anakin's eyes.

"So that means me, Josh, and Anakin will stay here and watch over Standards," Inya finished.

"Basically."

A sigh. "Okay then." She got to her feet and cleared her throat. "I'm gonna clean up. I'll let you boys handle the rest." And she was gone.

Derek subconsciously moved over to Jason and they began talking; leaving Obi-Wan and Anakin to each other. For a moment, there was a beat of silence the Master knew was the calm before the storm. Then…

_"You're not going without me"_ came flowing through the Force, riding along waves of anxiety and stubbornness.

"Anakin…" He chose verbal usage; he was too tired to keep a Force conversation going at the moment, even if it meant **_that_ **much less privacy. "You can't go out there. Derek and I agreed to that…"

"I'm going with you, Master."

"No, Anakin," was the sharp order. "No, no… you're injuries haven't even had the time to heal – your shoulder and your burns. And I need you here to protect Standards…"

"Swap me with Jason."

"I can't, Anakin…"

"You're not going where I can't watch your back!"

_Oh, Anakin…_ "I would like nothing more than to be teamed up to you as we did during the War; but you must trust me on this, young one. **_Please_**." He scanned the boy's face, easily saw the exhaustion, the fear, the pains in ever curve and angle of his features. _Yesterday I watched helplessly as you convulsed on the ground, screaming from whatever hell that demon Death plagued you with. I'm not letting you go out there into that wasteland. Not yet_. "No." He braced himself for the arguments destined to come, the fervent protests he learned would always accompany Obi-Wan Kenobi being put in danger.

And so he was surprised when instead Anakin turned away from him, and got to his feet abruptly, moving over to the opposite end of Central. Mental shield slammed down, forbidding access to the young man's mind.

_Anakin... _Of course he followed, Obi-Wan getting to his feet quickly going to where Anakin was now on his lump, sitting with his face glaring at the ground. Obi-Wan sat on his own lump across from him and timorously reached out one military-gloved hand to grasp the trembling one across from him. "I need you here, Anakin," he whispered reluctantly. He could read the thoughts racing through his mind simply by gazing at the boy's face. _"Don't you see – I need to protect you."_ Not spoken aloud, not needing to. He could see it, he could understand it.

"Do you trust Jason?" he asked gently.

Finally, blue eyes met his own. "Of course." Voice barely above a whisper.

"And you trust Derek?"

A moment beat by. "Yes."

"And Anakin, you trust me?"

Something between disbelief and hurt flickered in those eyes. "With my life, Master…"

The hand that had been holding him moved over to hover just above the younger Jedi's neck – a show of affection so uncommon to the Jedi Order, so forbidden by attachment. A move only this horror show could bring out of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Perfect Jedi. "Then, Anakin, trust my decision," he finished. "And trust that Derek and Jason will have my back when you cannot."

"But I can. You don't have to protect me."

"Yes I do," he replied firmly. "Yes I do, just as you feel you must protect me. Every single member of this Colony must protect one another now; and right now, you must protect Inya, Karis, and Josh."

_But I can't let you go out there alone. I **can't**, Master. What if she finds you, like she always threatens to? What if Death manages to catch you?_ He wanted to protest more, protest so badly. Fight until the Master gave in, let him join Alpha.

And yet he knew it wouldn't happen. Because if Obi-Wan caved, there was Derek. Derek, who he knew had managed to grow what the Jedi called an 'attachment' to him; one that Anakin knew he didn't mind. Didn't mind at all the fact he wasn't alone, despite the loneliness that claimed his sleepless nights at times. _But that's just why I have to go, why I have to protect them both. I can do it…_

"Anakin." Obi-Wan's voice broke through his weak mental protests. "**_Please_**."

There was that look in those gray eyes he had never, truly understood. Where forbidden emotion came to surface in Kenobi, when a close call during battle or a false rumor on Coruscant caused that side of Obi-Wan, the side he kept locked up, surfaced. A side that came out so rarely, Anakin didn't know how to argue with it; nor could he find the heart to.

_Don't make me do this – don't make me obey the order that scares me so badly. Please, Master…_ But the look remained, so with an agonized sigh, he lowered his head and bit his lip.

"Fine."

One word, but it screamed a promise Anakin prayed he wouldn't regret.

**xXx DATE: 5/11/45876 (The Next Morning) xXx**

They were gone when he awoke.

8:00 am, and Anakin arose to Inya and Josh restlessly straightening up Central, with no sign of the others beside Karis, asleep on her lump.

The first emotion to jump into his panicking mind was fear; and quickly following, anger. _Sometimes I really hate you, Master_. Quickly lying back down and throwing himself beneath the thin sheet so as not to alert the others, he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block out that tiny little voice in the back of his mind, the one that whispered, _'This is it. They're not coming back. First Ahsoka, and then your Master and Derek. You're gonna be all alone, and you can't stop it…'_

He slipped into the Force.

_"Master, what the hell?"_

_"Anakin?"_

Shifting his senses farther, he could sense his Master, nearby, but definitely not in the building. He could still feel tendrils of the other man's adrenaline, fear, and nervous thrill, despite how hard the Master attempted to hide it.

_"I can't believe you snuck off like that"_

_"Anakin…"_

_"Where are you?"_

A pause, which he guessed was Obi-Wan double checking his surroundings. _"We only left a few minutes ago. Passed the old science lab, the one with the sky bridge. We're about to enter an apartment building – the small one with the blue tinted windows"_

_"You wanna tell me how I slept through the four of you preparing and leaving without waking up even slightly?"_

He could almost see his Master's hesitant smile. _"Not really"_

_"Not impressed, Master. Force-sleep suggestions? That's petty, even for you"_

_"As if you haven't had your fair share in the past, my Padawan"_

Hearing the title, the lightness with which the other man spoke even if it was a just a façade the Jedi was putting up so that his former pupil wouldn't worry… it almost worked. For a few brief, blissful moments, if he kept his eyes shut, he could pretend everything was back in the past; back to the normal he'd grown up in. He was in the med-bay, and that confounded partner of his had used an old trick to keep his friend in bed. Obi-Wan had snuck off to the Temple, no doubt to give his report and then oversee Anakin's fleet while he was bedridden…

_"I may have had my fair share, Master"_ he spoke, anger melting away to concealed warmth. _"But I at least have the nobleness to confront you, not run off with your hooligan friends looking for trouble"_

He could actually hear the other man's snort. _"Mhm. I believe you are mixing yourself with I. I didn't not 'run off'. I went to get the job done. And what do you mean, hooligans? They're your friends too"_

_"Not after this stunt"_

_"Anakin…"_

_"Relax, Master. Just… get back here in one piece"_

_"Why, so you can kill me yourself when I return?"_

_"Exactly"_

_"Alright, just don't do anyt… shit…"_

He didn't miss the profanity muttered beneath suddenly labored breaths. _"What happened?"_

_"Anakin, I've got to go"_

_"Why? Master, what happened…?"_

_"Ax awoke some friends"_

_"What?"_

_"Anakin, I'm cutting off now. Just protect Standards, and be safe"_

_"Master, wait!"_

Nothing.

_"Master!"_

His eyes flew open when once again, he could not stretch his senses strong enough to penetrate his Master's now blocked mind. He flew into a sitting position, prepared to simply grab his lightsaber and go to wherever the hell the older Jedi managed to get himself into trouble.

But then he was met with the stained walls of Central, with Inya and Josh still moving around in the background; and he stopped.

There was no speeder to take him to his Master. No way he even knew which route to take.

"Damn it!" Hands flew up to clench his hair, and he released his frustration into the Force.

Up ahead, Inya and Josh spun around. "Anakin, are you alright?" the soldier called out, frowning. Both made their way over to him, Inya dropping to her knees beside him and gentle untangling his fingers from hair. "Anakin, what's wrong…?"

"They're in trouble," he gasped, wincing. His Master was strong with the Force; but not as strong as he was. He could feel Obi-Wan's – and Jason's and Derek's and Nathan's – signatures, and the horrifying fear that told him they were in trouble. **_Deep_** trouble.

Josh's eyes widened. "What, you had another vision?"

"More like heard Obi-Wan tell me himself in not so many words," he replied quickly as he got to his feet.

"Wait, where are you going?!"

"Where do you **_think_** I'm going?" he snapped back at her, grabbing his jacket from beneath the lump.

Josh took a step forward. "You're not going out there. Derek made me promise him to not let you out there – any of us out there!"

The scream came from the Force so suddenly that he doubled over, wincing at the intensity of the emotions that suddenly crashed against his mind in a typhoon.

_"Anakin, **help me**!"_

_"Master!"_

Nothing.

"I'm going!" He didn't care that he shoved Inya so hard back that she hit the wall, ignored Josh's feeble protests. He grabbed the weapon that now felt more home in his hand that his lightsaber once had. He heard arguing in the background, struggled to ignore it, couldn't, so turned around in anger and thwarting. "I said I'm going!"

Josh faced him, a blank expression on his face. "I know," he said, monotone. "I was saying that we're coming with you."

_Huh?_ "What?"

"We're all in this together," Inya said quietly, adjusting her own jacket. "And if you're right, if the others need help… you're going to need backup, Anakin."

_"Protect Standards. Stay safe. Promise me that." _Obi-Wan's voice rang through his mind, and just slightly made him waver in his reckless decision making; but then it was interrupted by another wave of panic coming from Team A, and he closed his conscious down.

"Come on, then."

**xXx (Half an Hour Later) xXx**

"Anakin!"

The young Jedi jumped forward at the sound of his Master's voice, knocking him out of the way of a charging mutt.

Somewhere in the background, an old oil can exploded.

And then, his Master's grateful gray eyes transformed into pools of black, beard and hair fell of and then grew into greasy, silver strands, and his body morphed into a skinny skeleton clad in a tattered black dress.

Bloody lips drew close to his face as abnormally strong hands gripped him with claws, immobilizing him to the ground as Death stared at him, grinning with maroon fangs.

"Oh, dear Chosen One…" she hissed, mouth hovering just above his face, black saliva dropping onto his cheek.

"…you were always so easy to fool."


	14. Once Known as Coruscant

Chapter 7: Once Known as Coruscant

* * *

><p><strong>DATE: 511/45876 (Half Hour Earlier)**

**xXx ((Team B)) xXx**

The door creaked open, a harsh sound that echoed through the air. He winced at the sound, muscles tensing as he scanned the surrounding area, expecting the inevitable wave of mutts to come rushing and clawing towards them like a typhoon; but the atmosphere remained just as deserted and undisturbed as it always was nowadays.

"Last chance to change your mind," Josh whispered, raising an eyebrow in the direction of the younger man beside him.

"Last chance for you to stay behind and guard Standards," Anakin countered, frowning. A thick silence followed, until Inya finally pushed her way between the two men. "C'mon boys, we've already gone over this," she broke in, rolling her eyes. "We've got to start moving." She didn't look back, but kept on walking as Anakin and Josh exchanged glances, and then followed.

It was hot. That was the first thing to register in Josh's mind as he immediately swept back short, greasy locks of blonde hair, wincing at the scorching sunlight that burnt his eyes. There was just the slightest breeze rustling through the air, and it carried with it a variety of smells that nearly caused him to pass out right then and there. He shot a look at Anakin Skywalker, and noticed that the younger man ha d also paled as the atmosphere around them seemed to close in. Even Inya had stopped dead in her tracks, and adopted a look of pure revulsion. "What is that smell?" the brunette woman whispered, and Anakin bit his lip, glancing across the street.

"Might have something to do with that."

They both followed his gaze; and immediately Josh felt something thick and rancid like bile rise in his throat as he eyed the three decaying bodies that lay through the shattered glass window of an old café. The place had once served food and refreshments for tourists and hospital staff; looking at the shattered doors, windows, and the three dead that lay strewn across it, Josh wondered how in the world that place could have once served 'the Galaxy's Greatest Subs', as the faded sign stated. The bodies were half-rotten underneath Coruscant's now-brutal sun, the open wounds of a mutt's bite still visible in shrunken, putrefied flesh that more resembled rotten gourds than living beings. Flies, once unknown in the luxury of Coruscant, now swarmed the corroded meat.

"Oh Force," Inya breathed, sub-consciously taking several steps back so that she was side by side with the others. A quick sweep with the eyes revealed five more bodies all within a yard of them. Then, with lack of anything else to say, she repeated it. "Oh **_Force_**."

The two men remained dead silent as they drank in the situation. Anakin was the first one to snap himself back to reality. To Obi-Wan and his rescue mission. "C'mon. We need to keep moving."

Josh nodded dumbly, the twenty-eight-year-old swallowing around the lump in his throat. "Yeah… yeah. I think Derek said they were going west. Yes, it was definitely west. And they said they weren't going far either."

Inya cast a look over her shoulder, back into the dark halls of Standards hospital. "Are you sure Central will be alright?"

"Do you want to stay?" Anakin demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We have to go… **_now_**."

"Alright, alright." Inya held her hands up, and then stepped back as Josh and Anakin moved forward. "Let's move it then."

The doors to Standards were sealed, latched, and barricaded.

The streets were deserted, rancid, and soaked through with death. Bodies lay scattered here and there, remains of both humans, aliens, and mutts strewn across the ground. Scavenging animals were as rare on Coruscant as water was on Tatooine; but there were the occasional dog or other strange, unidentified creature that had once served as a pet for the, as Derek put it, 'Richie Riches' of the galaxy. They began to see signs of their teammates, empty clips from the standard arms given the Colony. Recent boot prints in the dust and grime, and the Force-presence of Jason and Obi-Wan on the ground and buildings all around. As the feelings grew stronger, Anakin's step increased faster, Jason and Inya not protesting as they kept up with the young Jedi.

Twenty five minutes later, when all three of them spotted their companions fighting over a dozen mutts, they ran into the fray. An explosion rocked the ground somewhere several feet away, an old speeder combusting no doubt, and Anakin jumped forward, knocking Obi-Wan to the ground, shielding him with his own body. But then, he was flipped over onto his back; and Anakin watched Obi-Wan's familiar face transform into something grotesque and horrid. It became the face of a demon.

Death.

He heard Inya's high-pitched scream as who she had thought was Jason beside her transformed into a ragged female mutt, one mangled arm flapping in the revolting breeze. Josh gave out a cry too as the arm he had believed to belong to Nathan was soon revealed as an elderly Twi'lek grandfather, wrinkled face contorted beyond belief, black bile dripping from cracked lips.

Anakin felt the pressure on his wrists and chest increase as Death pinned him down, tiny black eyes blinking from the sides, nostrils that belonged to a skull leaned down and sniffing him as a pointed, two-pronged tongue licked her bloody lips at his scent. "Oh, Chosen One…" she cooed, raising one clawed hand, the skin on it mottled and withered.

"…you were always so easy to fool."

Her hand latched onto his forehead, and Anakin felt himself slip back into that terrifying, black void of unconsciousness; just as he realized that the other scream filling the air was his own.

**xXx**

Josh felt his heart jump into his throat as Nathan morphed into some ravenous mutt. Giving a cry of shock and disbelief, he swung his rifle around and blasted the guts out of the monster, watching with sick relief as the creature fell to the ground, its skull bursting open like a watermelon as it hit the concrete. He turned just in time to see Anakin collapse, as if pushed by some unseen force, and begin convulsing on the ground.

_Not now, not now! _"Anakin!" He moved forward, shooting down there more mutts as he dropped to his knees near the younger man. "Anakin? Anakin, wake up! Inya! Inya, I need help!"

"I can't get to you!" He heard the woman's frantic voice, but couldn't see her. An entire wave of mutts seemed to swarm him from out of nowhere; and he noticed movement in the office building above him as well, through one of the forth story windows. He grabbed at his hair, scrabbled for the trigger on his gun, wondering if the afterlife, even hell, were similar or better than this screwed up life.

**xXx ((Team A)) xXx**

"Damn it!"

"Be quiet, Nathan!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"All of you sissies hush up!" Derek snapped, glaring Nathan and Lynn, wiping the sweat from his face with a filthy, gloved hand. They were all crowded into the back stairwell of the empty office building – why the **_hell_** they were in here instead of an apartment complex or hardware store he still didn't know. "Nathan, why don't you just tell me why we are in here before I march us all right out of this toilet bowl and somewhere **_useful_**?"

"This building was headquarters for a series of chain stores and various shops," Nathan replied, voice back down to a low key since the 28-year-old had gotten over his fright of nearly falling down the stairs. "There could be maps and locations to where the nearest and largest supplying supplies stores and warehouses are. We get those, and we won't have to search all over for them."

"And how do you know all this?" Lynn demanded, the dark eyed 36-year-old screwing his face at the – in his mind – annoying military scientist.

"I commuted here from Yaazix-5 plenty of times," Nathan defended himself. "You know this Derek."

"Alright, alright, just all you stop you're hissy fits," the soldier sighed, shaking his head. "Kenobi, you ready for round four?"

Obi-Wan was in the back of the pack, cradling his heavy weapon while giving a thumbs up. "We're ready when you are." He made sure with his partner, and Jason nodded.

"Alright then. We do this just like we did the others – clear the floor, cover Nate-boy over there while he searches backup hard drives for the info we need."

"Got it," Jason called.

"Okay. Move it!"

Derek kicked the door in, and the team burst inside. Three mutts, all wearing fancy business suits and name tags came at them, jaws snapping, milky eyes crazy and wild with hunger. They were shot down easily, the rest of the area empty except for those three.

"Must've been a boring day when these guys were stuck up here," Derek mused, eyeing the door that had been locked from the inside. "The evacuations started, they thought they could wait it out up here in their comfortable little cubicles, until spouses or buddies came to pick them up…"

Nathan was already at one of the computers, cursing slightly as he moved from desk to desk. "Backup batteries were used up on almost all of these."

Derek nodded, pursing his lips. "Makes sense. Once they realized their pals weren't coming back for them, they probably sent off a million emails and texts a minute, trying to get to every emergency service available in the galaxy. Then the grid was knocked out, and the HoloNet channels were lost, and the radio went dead. They wasted the rest of the batteries trying to get a single reply on their stupid social sites or a reply from **_someone _**out there. Then, see that hole in the door over there? Near the stairwell? A mutt finally got through, and these guys couldn't fight, starving and hopeless. They probably ran right into that monster's arms, begging it take them out of this miserable fate…"

"Derek." It was Obi-Wan who quietly shut the ranting officer up with a single word and a look that he used to use on Anakin when the boy had been a loud-mouthed Padawan, and then a loud-mouthed Knight.

"Sorry, sorry." The other man adopted a look of sincere contrition, and moved over to help Jason inspect their surroundings. Ax stayed near the door, the military pilot numbly rubbing his rifle and actually looking bored.

Obi-Wan walked over to Nathan, watching the brown-haired 28-year-old fiddle with computers, extracting their hard drives, checking the system, trying to find what he was looking for. "If I can just find the right disk," the scientist grunted. "Then I can bring it back to Standards. I'm sure Anakin can hook something up and we'll be able to download the maps and locations and stuff."

"Hm." The Jedi watched him work a few moments longer before replying, "You're handy with this sort of stuff. I'm surprised you didn't chose electrical engineering instead of science."

Nathan smirked, rubbing one side of his thin whiskers in thought. "I always thought the system was too… fragile," he admitted. "Everything hooked up to one giant grid. And Coruscant was the heart of it all. The only reason I know all this stuff is because I had – still have – so little faith in the electrical complexity of it all."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything, and I mean **_everything_**, had been set up so that it ran on power," he explained quietly. "If the grid went down, as it did two months after this place was evacuated, we have nothing. Communications, the HoloNet, almost all appliances, power tools, stuff like that. Half our transports were recharged electrically, and those that aren't we can't fix just yet because all the parts were made in factories that ran on that system. Everything falls apart. You know what this is, Jedi?" He held out a small, metal object from his belt. "This is a can opener. All military utility belts have one. Simple – you put it on the can, twist, and can opens. These are military grade, because guess what civilians use? The **_electric_** can opener. Now what are those suckers gonna do without power? All that canned food probably stocked up in their pantry, and no damn way to open it." He shook his head again, returned the object to his belt, and sighed. "Look – I know your psychic friend thinks this whole ordeal is caused by some paranormal phenomenon that has to do with your Force stuff, but I'm liable to believe that it's **_us_**, the people of the galaxy, that screwed up big time. And now we're paying the price. Like the galaxy just hit the self-destruct button one day and unleashed hell onto ourselves."

A heavy silence followed between the two, and Obi-Wan found himself speechless. Because a( this was the first time Obi-Wan had heard Nathan Fox say something not only dead serious, but something that took deep thought and analyzing and with a deathly grave note; and b( because, somehow, those words made sense. So he was speechless, and when he finally spoke, all he could manage was a lousy, "Anakin's not psychic."

A huffed laugh. "Yeah, agree to disagree. The kid's got a sixth sense, Master Jedi. You just don't want to see it. What's the problem? Jealous?"

Aaaand the jackass was back.

The shrill shriek from the Force came sudden and without warning, nearly splitting Obi-Wan's head in two as the Jedi Master gasped and dropped his weapon in shock. All eyes were on him, and when he stumbled around to find Jason, he noticed the other Jedi too was doubled over, gaping. "I felt it too," the redhead 30-year-old managed to choke out, and Obi-Wan nodded, wincing. "What in the galaxy is that…?"

Just then, the building shook as an explosion, extremely nearby, sent flames and smoke flying up at the nearby glass windows.

Derek and Lynn charged to the pane, Lynn giving off a mere, "Holy crap!" as Derek cursed beneath his breath. "There's people down there!" the officer exclaimed, squinting in the hot sunlight that hindered his vision. "People and a damn whole lot of mutts!"

Nathan was the next one peering downward while Jason and Obi-Wan followed. It was him who recognized the blonde man in camo first down in the streets below. "Shit, guys, its Josh!"

"**_What_**?!" Derek's voice spat shocked venom as Obi-Wan pressed himself against the glass, noticing a certain lithe figure drop to the ground while Josh – yes, it was definitely Josh – ran towards him. "Anakin…" he breathed, a whisper that Derek heard immediately as he spun around and charged towards the door.

"Everyone, get down there, **_now_**!"

**xXx ((Team B)) xXx**

Inya Mari swore to the Force or whatever essence was out there that if she managed to escape this nightmare alive, she would never again doubt in its reality or existence. If only she were not surrounded by these awful, hideous things, she would believe the Jedi no matter how absurd the thought of the Force was. She'd believe them, and she'd believe whatever nonsense Anakin babbled about when he spoke of demons and a woman named Death and all that hubbub.

The bullets that saved her life came sudden and swiftly, just as she was cornered between a dumpster and an old salon. The five mutts around her dropped to the ground, and she noticed a black-capped man lower his pistol before turning to shoot down another group of ugly creatures. Derek. She pressed a hand to her breast, trying to re-catch her breath, as she noticed Kenobi, Jason, and the others all come pouring from the office building, guns blazing.

Adrenaline would not allow her to stay in her position, especially now that she was not cornered like some poor deer, so she bolted forward, ducking down to avoid bullets and mutts. She found Anakin and Josh tucked into a nearby alleyway, and flew towards them, finding solace in Josh's immediate, protective arm around her, his other keeping a dazed-looking Anakin steady and upright.

"Did you… d-did you s-see what… I saw…" Damn it! She couldn't even speak a single sentence.

She didn't have to. Both men nodded, Anakin's face darkening while Josh looked sick. "It wasn't really them," Josh said slowly, the soldier lowering his eyes. "It was a damn trick."

She kept near them, pressing herself between the concrete wall and Anakin. Even when the mutts screeches died out, and the bullets stopped flying, she didn't move. Neither of the three did. They heard approaching footsteps, and backed away.

Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared in the alleyway before them, his beard and hair covered in dust and grime, his face shocked and eyes wide as he stared at them. "What are you **_doing_** here?" the Jedi moved forward, shaking his head, frowning at them. "Do you have any idea what almost happen…?"

Inya wasn't aware Anakin had moved until the Knight had taken three long strides towards his mentor. And she was brought to the full face of reality when the young man pulled out his smaller hand pistol, cocked the safety off, and pointed it straight at Obi-Wan's face.

**xXx**

"Anakin?"

Obi-Wan didn't see the gleaming metal of the gun until it was too late. In fact, he didn't even realize Anakin was holding it until his former apprentice was pointing it **_straight at his face_**. He stopped dead in his tracks, sucking a breath as he felt all color leave his face. Anakin. Was pointing a gun. **_At his face_**. And he just now noticed Inya and Josh both had hands on their own weapons as well, though they hadn't taken them out or stepped forward. They didn't even reach out to stop Anakin from **_blowing his brains out_**.

"Anakin?" he repeated, voice slower and more wary this time as he noticed the wild look in the younger man's eyes. "Anakin, what are you doing?"

He heard noise behind him, and heard someone – most likely Lynn – choke on his own spit as the rest of them took in what was going on. He heard Nathan's breathed, "holy shit" and Ax's, "What the hell?" He didn't hear Derek say anything; most likely the man was just as shocked and dumfounded as he was.

He returned his focus to Anakin, who he could see was shaking now, a cold sweat covering the Knight's face and exposed skin. "Anakin," he tried again. "Anakin, put the gun down, it's me, Obi-Wan…"

"You're not Obi-Wan!" The cry was so violent and loud he jumped. "Get back! All of you get back now!" One finger moved towards the trigger, and that's when Derek got side by side with Obi-Wan. "Kid, cut it out! Josh why are you just standing there…?"

"Are you real?" Inya squeaked, biting her lip as her brown eyes grew wide. "A-Are you really them?"

"The hell you talking 'bout, girl?" Derek glared at them, and then as he turned to Anakin, his expression softened. "Kid, c'mon, gimme that gun, it's all over now…"

"How do I know you're really them?!" Anakin demanded, shaking his head. "How do I know it's not another trick?!"

"What trick?" Nathan called from behind. "**_You're_** the idiots that left Standards and disobeyed orders. Now you're gonna hold us at gunpoint and demand to know what trick? What the hell?!"

"Nathan, shut up!" Derek roared, and Anakin flinched as he swung the pistol towards the Yaazix-5 officer.

"Everyone needs to calm down," Jason cut in, stepping forward. "Anakin, what's going on?"

"We saw you guys before," Josh interjected, voice sounding unsure and cautious. "We came to save you guys! Because Kenobi told Anakin he needed help! And then you guys were freakin' mutts!"

Obi-Wan paled, and turned to Anakin, wide eyed. "Anakin," he whispered. "I didn't talk to you since last night."

Anakin took a step back as Josh shook his head. "No way! Inya and I saw it, you talked via Force-whatever and you needed help! We saved you, and you guys were all mutts!"

"Anakin, it was a trick." Obi-Wan was pretty much ignoring the others' conversation now. Instead, he focused on his partner, who was still holding the gun at him but looking unsure and less terrified. "Anakin, this really is me. I'm not a mutt. I'm Obi-Wan. Can't you sense it? It's me. Just me… what happened was a trick, Anakin." He kept on saying it over and over, adding a few words here and there, watching as Anakin's arms lowered more and more with each word. He made sure his mind was open for the younger man to explore, to search for proof that this was the real Obi-Wan Kenobi.

They were making real process, Anakin now pointed the gun towards Obi-Wan's toes while listening to his Master, when something caught the boy's eye. Skywalker looked up, past Obi-Wan and at a building several yards away; and his jaw dropped. His arms went completely lax at his sides by shock, and his eyes widened even more. "Holy Force…"

Everyone turned. Everyone. Guns clattered to the ground, all thoughts of the present predicament completely forgotten as swears flew through the open mouths of the soldiers. Derek blinked at the sight before him, trying to comprehend what they were looking at.

There, on top of an old apartment complex a mere two yards away, were around a dozen figures, at least half female.

**_Waving _**at them.


	15. The Forsaken

Chapter 8: The Forsaken

* * *

><p>"My name is Kolic, and you are on Forsaken property."<p>

Kolic Kat was a tall, muscular Twi'lek with dark navy skin and sea-green eyes. The rifle-nosed blaster held in his hands remained lined up with Derek's forehead, the little red laser shining down on them guaranteeing that the a laser shot would not miss. The rest of the Colony members stood completely still as the Kolic's companions all took out their own rifles, and took aim.

_Perhaps running towards complete strangers wasn't the best idea_, Obi-Wan admitted silently to himself; though he really had no regrets. To see people, real, **_living_** people with the ability to keep their drool in their mouth, was a blessing – even if those people were overly suspicious and prepared to decapitate them with a simple squeeze of their triggers. He kept his voice steady, feet firmly planted to the ground and one hand on Anakin's shoulder, as he spoke up, "I assure we, we mean no harm to you."

A dark skinned human woman with delicate features but fire in her eyes stared coldly at the Jedi Master. "You may not have come here to harm us," she snapped. "But you are still on our property, scavenging for supplies that rightfully belong to **_us_**."

"Excuse me?!" Nathan burst out, ignoring the others' warnings. "Did you buy all of Coruscant when we weren't looking?!"

The dark woman tightened her grip on her rifle and sneered.

"Everyone just calm down," Kolic barked before looking back down at the Colony. The Jedi and military were down on the streets while the 'Forsaken' remained on the rooftop of their small apartment complex, six women and seven men, all armed. "What are you doing here?" he called down.

"Scavenging for supplies, as your friend stated," Obi-Wan replied, slipping back into the calm, smooth tones that had gotten him named the Negotiator during the war. "I must insist, though, in letting you realize we didn't know there were 'territories' now."

"And we didn't know others got stuck here during the Coruscant evac," a brown-haired man stated. "We searched this entire area – why didn't we hear of or see you guys before?"

"We came here only about a week ago – we weren't left behind, we came here willingly. We are a team of volunteers that have made it our mission to return to Coruscant and remain here until a cure for this pathogen has been found."

This caught the others off guard – even calm, rigid Kolic's eyes widened, and the Twi'lek turned to his comrades in confusion as whispers flew from one to the other. Finally, the brown-haired man returned his focus to them. "How do we know you ain't just some party of brigands or looters?"

Obi-Wan took a step forward, and tugged on the small Republic insignia sewn onto all their uniforms. "We have been dispatched by the Galactic Republic for this assignment," he stated. "I am Jedi general Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is my partner Anakin Skywalker, and fellow Jedi Jason Dean. The others with us are our team, varying forms of Yaazix-5 soldiers to medics and scientists."

Now, the hostility was less in their eyes, and friendly interest peaked in Kolic as he leaned forward. "Medics? Do you have a doctor with you?!"

"Yes."

The Twi'lek spun around and immediately began conversing with the brown-haired man and dark woman. Fierce whispers erupted between the two, and with the Force, Obi-Wan caught the words, "I recognize them from the HoloNet" and "we can't just turn them away, not if they've got a doctor" and "Natasha, this is a godsend, we don't have time to be picky". Then, Kolic Kat turned back to them, and dropped his weapon completely, grinning. "You can come into the apartment," he offered. "We'll do a quick search, make sure you're telling the truth; and then, I think hostilities will have no place between us anymore."

**xXx (Inside Forsaken Headquarters) xXx**

The apartment complex was small but efficient; Obi-Wan could see that as soon as they entered the front door. The downstairs hall and lobby were rather spacious, the floors and walls stained but cleaner than the Colony's own hospital. The Colony members were led in by the brown-haired man and a young human woman with various tattoos marking her face in shades of blue and purple. It was the man that told them they could keep their weapons; but that any threats would be eliminated immediately. "Sorry 'bout the whole gunpoint thing before," he said sincerely. "But you can never be too careful nowadays – living beings can be just as dangerous as the biters."

Obi-Wan managed a warm smile. "We don't blame you at all for being careful. As I said before, my name is Obi-Wan Kenobi, and we are the Colony."

The other man nodded, and shook the Jedi's hand. "My name's Hadrian, and welcome to Forsaken HQ."

After being led towards a back room, where Kolic and the others from the roof were waiting, the Colony members were stripped of their military gear, their weapons put at their feet but still within reach, and each person searched. According to Kolic, they were searching for any signs of looting or cannibalism – the very thought made chills run up Kenobi's spine as he tapped into his mental bond with Anakin, unable to see the younger man because he was facing a wall. _"What do you make of all this?"_

_"I'm standing here in a t-shirt and boxers, Master. I don't know **what **to think right now"_

_"Well, do you feel anything suspicious?"_

There was a brief pause. _"No, actually. I mean, there's the usual danger signal bleeping in the back of my mind; but that's been there ever since MAV first broke out"_

_"I don't feel anything either" _he said. _"So I suppose we just comply to their rules, and then we all have a nice cup of tea and chat"_

He could hear his former apprentice chuckle through the Force. The sound was pleasing and rare; so Obi-Wan hesitated before slowly asking, _"Anakin, are you alright?"_

Another pause, this one dragging out longer. _"Yeah. Why?"_

_"About before…"_

_"I don't want to talk about it right now, Master. I'll explain later"_

_"But are you sure you're alright?"_

This time, he didn't even get an answer, because the man searching him gave him the all clear and guided him back to where his gear was stored. "You can put back on your stuff, but please don't touch the weapons," he was instructed, his lightsaber and blaster set aside from his small backpack and military clothing.

As soon as everyone had gotten back into their gear, all their weapons at their feet, they all moved onto the second floor, where several of the back walls had been torn from the apartments to make a few small rooms and then one large one. Kolic and Hadrian took Obi-Wan and Derek into one of the smaller rooms, all four unarmed, and they discussed everything from members of each group to a brief description of supplies and then the goals of both groups. While the Colony strove to find a cure for MAV, the Forsaken were bent on simple survival, all of their fifteen members having missed the ships during the main evacuation. They were left stranded, to fend for themselves on a wasteland of a world, by themselves.

"We were angry at first," Kolic admitted, words clipped with a Ryloth accent. "It was anger misplaced; but there all the same. We were bitter that the Republic had unwittingly left us to die, and while it was wrong, that same anger drove us all together, one by one, some coming in pairs." The Twi'lek picked at the hem of his brown jacket, frowning. "I must say, it is kind of a relief to see that there's still a galaxy out there. When help never came back for us, we figured the biters must've spread and infected the entire kriffing universe."

"Only Naboo is left intact; at least it was, the last time we heard," Obi-Wan replied quietly. "I am sorry for the troubles you endured."

"I still can't believe you guys were crazy enough to come back to this place," Hadrian commented, cocking an eyebrow. "How's the whole hunt for the cure thing going anyway? Was it worth it?"

Derek snorted, lips twisting into a half frown. "We've been here a week – still too early to tell. But so far, let's just say I wouldn't give this place five stars."

Kolic's violet eyes began flickering with some sort of fervent emotion that Obi-Wan couldn't quite place. "It'll be nice to have some allies," he said quickly. "We're not saying everyone's gotta be buddy/buddy with each other; and we don't have to combine our groups either. But, you know, strength in numbers kind of thing. We've got supplies – you've got the means to find a cure. You know what I'm saying?"

"An alliance," Obi-Wan confirmed, nodding while rubbing his beard. "The offer is most likely probable to go through; however, don't you think that consultation with both groups will be necessary first? It doesn't seem like your members trust us very much. There are no hard feelings – don't mistake me – but for the comforts of everyone, I believe some level of trust must be present before strong ties are bonded to each group."

"No one trusts anyone these days," Hadrian said grimly. "We stumbled upon another group of about ten people two months ago. They let us in, offered us shelter, offered to feed us. It was only when they served dinner when we found out every single one of those bastards were kriffing **_cannibals_**. They were serving **_people_** at their dinner; and blast it…!" The middle-aged man's face darkened. "…it was like all our little hopes and dreams clinging to civilization vanished. Those **_sleemos_**."

Obi-Wan and Derek shared a revolted expression before the Jedi Master managed to find his voice. "If I may ask… what did you do to them?"

Kolic's face darkened, shadowed with something slightly menacing, and his hands curled into tightly-clenched fists. "We killed them. Every single one. Here's a tip from the experts, my new friends: it's not only the biters you need to be wary of. The living kill just as easily, and the law of the galaxy has changed. It's now kill or be killed…"

"…and the only way you beat the beasts of the world is by being bigger monsters than they are."

**xXx (One Hour Later) xXx**

Anakin stayed relatively close to Jason while the other Colonists wandered around, conversing with the Forsaken members, slowly making friends. Anakin scanned the area with the Force, unable to sense any immediate danger; but there was a slight shadow covering the dark woman named Madeline, who simply stared at them with suspicion and contempt in her eyes.

"Jason, what's your reading on that Madeline woman?" he murmured, not taking his eyes off of her. She was distracted by staring at Inya and Josh, so she didn't notice the Jedi's attention.

"Angry," Jason replied a moment later. "Hostile. Probably not a threat – simply hardened by everything that's happened. Can you really blame her for not trusting us? We could've been plotting to take over their entire little system here, kill them all, and take what they had."

"I don't blame her," Anakin reassured the other Jedi. "I'm just… being careful."

Jason nodded, opened his mouth to say more; but Anakin sensed his next question and cut him off. "I don't want to talk about before, Jason," he said quietly. "I'll try to explain what happened to you and Obi-Wan later; but not now. Just not now, okay?"

Jason obviously wanted to press harder, further. But after a brief moment of thinking, he sighed, and nodded reluctantly. "Just make sure you're alright, okay?"

"Okay."

They went back to observing their surroundings. That's when he noticed the usually bright, hot sunlight was dimming considerably. Moving to the barred windows, Anakin glanced outside, frowning at the blackened skies. "I think it's going to storm," he told Jason, frowning. "Didn't think Coruscant still did that, considering the weather we've seen so far."

"Oh, the weather around here is as unpredictable as the nine Correlian hells," a man from behind him stated. "When the grid went down, so did the weather controls for this mechanical hunk of a planet. It can rain one day, then a month of drought, and then it'll kriffing snow. With no weather controls, Mother Nature has moved back in; and she's a **_bitch_**. Best serial killer out there, if this virus is anything to go by, and those kriffing biters are her kriffing offspring."

Anakin turned away from him, and went back to frowning out the window. Jason came up behind him, and he turned his attention to him. "Don't you think we should be heading back to Standards?" he whispered. "I mean, if this weather is as unpredictable as that man said…"

Thunder crashed overhead, so sudden everyone jumped. Then, the rain started coming, pouring down in heavy sheets as if someone had just turned on the great water faucets in the sky, allowing all the seas of Kamino to bear down on the planet.

Behind him, Josh muttered something intelligible while Nathan went with his usual "Holy shit."

Andre Lynn, who'd been tending to a pregnant woman with a broken arm, cocked an eyebrow and whistled. "Well that storm is gonna be a pain in the ass to get through."

"We won't have to go through said-pain in the ass," announced Derek's sudden voice; and everyone turned as the four men from the meeting entered the large back room.

"Hadrian allowed us to do a mind search with the Force to ensure that no premeditated hostilities were intended," Obi-Wan announced, noticing how all the Forsaken glanced at each other. "We found no ill intentions; and thus, with his hospitality, Kolic has invited us to spend the rest of the day here with him and his group until the storm lessens and the mutts disperse from the streets."

Kolic spoke up, mainly to the Colonists. "You're little 'adventure' down there attracted all sorts of unwanted attention from all sorts of unwanted things. Me and the rest of the Forsaken are offering you guys some food and temporary shelter until this deranged weather lets up."

Anakin glanced at his mentor. _"Are you sure you can trust them?" _he asked via the Force.

Obi-Wan turned to him, and offered a wan smile. _"I sensed no deception in Hadrian when I searched his mind, and I still don't find any ill intentions in their Force-presences"_

He didn't either; but that still didn't stop the cautious churning in his gut as the Colony and the Forsaken all shook hands and began chatting loudly, smiles erupting on many faces now that they were reassured that there was no danger amongst them.

Anakin didn't miss the curious fact that when he finally shook hands with Kolic, Madeline smiled for the first and only time. It was a cold smile.

**xXx**

The storm raged on into the night, and spare sleeping bags were pulled out when it became evident the Colony was to be staying overnight with the Forsaken. The small generation system that they had hooked up lit up the rooms with light, and as a dinner of freeze-dried Nubian dishes and dehydrated fruit was prepared, Anakin sat on the windowsill of one of the empty apartment rooms, the lightning occasionally illuminating the dark room.

Whenever the electricity in the sky crashed with the rolling thunder, he could see quick flashes of the mob of mutts down in the streets and alleys, wandering around aimlessly. Hunched bodies stumbling around in the puddles below; and even the storm couldn't completely drown out the musical chorus of their groans and snarls.

He closed his eyes tightly, hands wandering to the sides of his head and he tangled his fingers in his ears, trying desperately to block out the horrid noise. The growls reminded him of the earlier battle before, the echoing cries of his Master in his ears as Death lured him into another one of his sadistic traps. Copying Obi-Wan's Force-signature, disguising the mutts to look like the other Colony members. He'd played her game just as she wanted, being a gullible fool. He'd almost died, he'd almost gotten Inya and Josh killed, Standards now left unguarded…

The Force had always been the one thing he could trust in his life, always with him, even before he'd ever left Tatooine as a boy. Now, it was warped into something twisted, dark, something that Death had tainted so that he no longer knew if he could trust the very thing that made him the Jedi's Chosen One.

"Anakin?"

It was Obi-Wan's voice that called to him; but how could he tell that was really him? What if it was another trick? What if he looked up and it was Death there, smiling at him? Grinning ear to ear with her bloody fangs and little black eyes and mottled skin and slithering, hissing voice, whispering lies…

When he felt the firm hand on his elbow, he flinched violently and almost screamed. **_Almost_**. Only a quick self-check prevented himself from doing so. It **_was_** Obi-Wan standing before him – he could see that now – as the Master watched him with concern in his gray eyes, Force presence sturdy and light. So unlike how it had been when Death feigned being him. "Anakin, what's wrong?" the older man asked quietly, slipping onto the thick windowsill before him, hand not leaving his young friend's arm.

He stared at him, trying to convince himself that this **_was_** Obi-Wan – because it was obviously so – and that Death would not be able to trick him so easily next time. He'd be more careful, more cautious. With attentive fingers, he placed one of his hands on Obi-Wan's – feeling the other man there, physically, helped. He didn't disintegrate into a putrid demon as 'he' had before, when Death had worn his Master's skin. This was Obi-Wan. And Obi-Wan would not harm him, as he was his partner, his best friend, greatest protector. This was Obi-wan, and he was safety.

The feeling was comforting, warm and soothing; but of course, it couldn't last. Nothing that made him happy ever did. Almost as soon as he let his muscles and mind relax, a haunting chill ran down his spine, and he felt as though the room temperature had dropped several degrees. He immediately tensed back up – and he could tell Obi-Wan had noticed – but he didn't care much at all, because there, behind Obi-Wan, standing in the pitch black corner with only her face and long neck sticking out of the shadows…

Death smiled at him, and raised one finger to her lips, shushing him. "Quiet now, Chosen One," she whispered, head tilting to one side, stringy gray hair falling over her sickly white skin. "This is our little secret, the first of many. Now, Obi-Wan wants to know all about our game earlier; but be a good boy and don't tell him. Because then I'm afraid I'll have to hurt him. Hurt him bad."

He didn't react the way he wanted to. He wanted to scream, or run away, or throw the Force all around until this **_thing_** was gone, out of his life and out of his mind. He blinked several times at her; but she remained there, smiling at him.

Slowly, he turned back to Obi-Wan, tearing his gaze from her maimed face to look at his Master.

Obi-Wan was holding onto his friend tightly now, feeling the way Anakin began trembling, rocked when he saw how suddenly clouded and misted over the younger man's eyes had become. "Anakin?" he ventured slightly. "Anakin, what is it?"

For a moment, the Knight didn't reply; and when he did, his voice was thick and unsteady. "Master," Anakin whispered hoarsely; and Obi-Wan's jaw dropped slightly when a tear fell from the young Jedi's eye. "Master, please tell me I'm not crazy. Just tell me right now."

For the first time, Obi-Wan Kenobi the Negotiator was speechless.

Death winked at him.

Anakin gripped him harder, licking his lips, more droplets rolling down his face. "Please, Master? Just say it, just once. Say it right now. Tell me I'm not going insane. Say it…"

"…please, **_please_**, Master, tell me I'm not crazy…"

**xXx**

The Forsaken's basement was rather large, open, and covered in medical supplies, cots, and other health tools. She wasn't sure what had drawn her down here, but now she was, and Inya took time to look over the cots with the white sheets, the lab stuff set up. Nothing compared to what Standards had, but decent enough. Obviously, the Forsaken had **_attempted_** finding some sort of cure, as Kolic had told them upstairs. Upstairs, where most of the groups' members were eating and laughing and joking like they were all old friends.

She'd slipped away to look around – nobody from the Forsaken seemed to question where she was going or seemed objective to the idea – so she trailed downstairs, small blaster slapping against her thigh as she walked. Why the basement? She didn't know, but she kept on looking around, fingering the viles and sheets and various tools before going over to where a little wall was constructed of thick, white plastic.

She pushed the makeshift curtain out of the way and then screamed.

She screamed long and hard, loud enough for everyone upstairs to hear and start running towards her position. She stumbled back several steps, shaking from head to toe before she realized the mutts before her, though growling and snapping and clawing, could not harm her.

There were five of them, each one in its own separate glass cage as if they were bugs in a huge vile. Five mutts, falling apart with their flesh hanging off their blackish skeletons, what little left of their skin covered in injection wounds. They were rotting, one of the creatures missing its two legs as it rolled around on the ground of its big vile; the glass was soundproof, because she couldn't hear the guttural growls it was obviously making.

The reason for the creatures was logical in the back of her mind – the Forsaken were trying to find a cure, and capturing some of the beasts was a decent move.

No. What scared her the most wasn't the mutts themselves, but the single creature that was in the front most cage. Skin peeling off the bone, face shrunken in and jaw hanging slack, but in better shape than the others. A mutt that Inya had only met twice before the poor person became the sick creature it was now.

Just as the Forsaken and Colony members jumped down into the basement and ran over to her, Inya breathed the mutt's name.

"Ahsoka."

* * *

><p>End Part II<p> 


	16. Ahsoka

**Lethal Outbreak: Part III: Kill or Be Killed**

**Trapped in a nightmare and spending each day fighting for their lives and a cure, the Colony is facing battles not just with the mutts, but with each other. When friends turn against friends, allies become enemies, and traitors appear from the shadows, you know that the end is near. Because this has to be hell, if the living people you rely on become more deadly than the dead monsters you're at war with.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: Ahsoka<p>

* * *

><p><strong>DATE: 1226/45875 (Six Months Ago)**

"MASTER!"

Ahsoka Tano's cry split the air, followed by the guttural growls of mutts and then another, **_human_** roar from the young Jedi Knight that flew through the air, impaling the creatures that dared to corner and terrify his apprentice. Ahsoka was pressed against the wall, lightsaber and shoto on the floor a few feet away, face scrunched up in a mixture of disgust and fear. He **_loathed_** that expression, and comfortingly placed a hand on her shoulder, guiding her along with him as they ran through the twisting halls and chambers. Another mutt leapt out of a shadowed corner, and Anakin Skywalker quickly lopped the beast's head off, while Ahsoka leapt high into the air and took down another that had tried coming at them from behind.

"It's getting dark out, Master," she called over to him, the emerald glow of her sabers illuminated her grime-covered face and head tails. "We have to get out of here."

"I know!" he replied, driving his heel into the fallen mutt's skull for good measure. The cranium collapsed beneath the blow, letting the slick, oily-black cranial fluid ooze onto the carpet. "Check around that corner. What do you see?"

She peeked around the gray bend, sneering when she spotted over twenty of the mutated victims wandering aimlessly around the corridor. Many of them were clad in tattered brown robes, the clothing hanging of their skeletal frames. "Blocked by more of the nightbrains," she reported grimly. "We can't get out that way without getting in the middle of another horde and attracting more."

Anakin cursed beneath his breath, and then looked at the window they were positioned near. The stained glass cast eerie shadows into the building, with the sunset's outside rays becoming distorted with the picture of an ancient Force wielder. "We can't go back out the way we came," he states, flipping his lightsaber over into his right hand. "So we'll just improvise." He sliced his blade across the glass in an 'X' formation, and then with the Force, shattered the window into a million smithereens. Immediately, the winds custom to the high altitude ripped into the hall, carrying the desolate chorus of groans from the mutts plaguing Coruscant.

Ahsoka leaned out a bit, scanning the area for any proximate danger, her lekku blowing back as more forceful zephyrs pulled against her. "There," she said finally, one thin finger pointing ahead. "That rooftop over there… we can make it, right?"

Anakin followed her gaze and smirked. "Quick thinking, Snips," he complimented. "Ready?"

"Ready."

They both stood on the windowsill, heartbeats racing as they heard the sounds of more rancid creatures rushing up to them from behind. "On the count of three," the Knight instructed, and upon seeing the girl's nod, he faced the horizon once more, squinting against the orange lighting. "One…"

"Two…" she offered.

He crouched down. "THREE!"

Summoning on the Force, the two Jedi leapt from the windowsill just as several rotting hands clawed the air where they had just been standing. They soared across a deep alleyway, where several more disfigured bodies looked up and snarled at them. Simultaneously, they hit the hard metal rooftop; and without stopping, they rolled to their feet and ran off, towards the empty police station where they knew Master Kenobi was awaiting their return, leaving the ruins of the Jedi Temple behind them.

**xXx DATE: ****5/11/45876 (Six Months Later, Present Time) xXx**

"Ahsoka."

The moment Inya Mari breathed the Togruta mutt's name, time seemed to stand still in the Forsaken's basement. Nobody moved, with the Colonists either confused or gaping, and Kolic Kat's Forsaken watching their guests with wary eyes. Inya, brown eyes wide against her dark tan face, gasped, and scrambled backwards onto her feet as the Ahsoka-thing snapped its blackened teeth in her direction. Only a barely audible growl was able to be heard through the thick glass tanks the mutts were in, but visibility was not an issue. The creature that had once been Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was maimed and horridly disfigured, open wounds rotting with infection, now-rigid backbones pressing up against the skin, one lekku nearly burnt and shriveled. Its fingernails were blackened and sharp, more like claws, and its eyes were completely black except for two tiny, narrow golden pupils. Sickly blue veins stretched out from the sockets and cover its face like invading vines.

For nearly five minutes, there was no movement among the living. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jason Dean remained nearest the stairwell, faces frozen in horror and disbelief. The other Colony members, those who had never met the teen girl, watched the expressions of others.

Anakin Skywalker remained planted in the middle of the group, staring at the Ahsoka-thing. His Snips, sniffing the glass that kept her apart from the living, gnarled tongue licking the shield and leaving a wet, grayish liquid in its wake. _No, no, no, no, no... _Scattered memories popped up in his mind, a happy Togruta apprentice sassing him and fighting beside him and saving him, being saved **_by_** him. The recollections were shattered and faint; but they were there, slowly coming back together by the sight of the Ahsoka-thing.

With the Soul Healers' help, he'd managed to accept that his Padawan learner had died. He'd never prepared himself for accepting the fact that she was now a monster.

That's when he spun around and outstretched his right hand, furiously manipulating the Force around the nearest Forsaken member's throat and smashing them into the wall nearby. "What have you **_done_** to her?!" he roared, fingers clenching as his victim gasped and the others began crying out and pushing their way towards him. "What have you DONE?!"

The Forsaken all raised their weapons, pointing blasters at Anakin; and it response, the Colony membered took out their own firearms, Derek aiming at Kolic's head and telling the Twi'lek to order his men down.

"Anakin!" It was Obi-Wan who called out to his partner, pushing his way towards his former apprentice. When he reached him, he grasped his arm, urging the young Knight to release his Force-choke. "Don't do this," he insisted quietly, stormy eyes sparking. "They aren't responsible, Anakin – they don't even know who she is. Don't do this." His grip tightened. "Let him go, my friend. Do not do this. Let him go."

Slowly, Anakin released his captive to the ground, and the middle-aged man stumbled off towards his own group, coughing and clutching his larynx. The Knight stared at the ground, ignoring Obi-Wan's touch as the older man moved to holding his shoulder, keeping him steady.

"What the hell was that?" Kolic demanded, glaring down the barrel of Derek's rifle. "What **_was_** that?! You got a problem, Jedi, or are you just…"

"Leave him be, Kat," Jason interrupted, moving forward now. "We can explain, just give Anakin some space right now."

"Some space? Master Jedi, I will remind you that you are the Forsaken's **_guests_**! I am, at the moment, highly uncomfortable with your 'colony's' presence, especially when one of your own just **_assaulted_** one my mine!"

Obi-Wan presently was ignoring the Forsaken leader, and kept his gaze steadily on his partner, gently probing the young man with the Force in concern. "Anakin?"

The Knight did not look up at his mentor; but he answered. "I thought she was dead," he whispered, eyes glued to the ground. "I… you were there. She was in the ship's explosion. She should be… burnt." He peeked at the Ahsoka-thing, grimacing. "But she's not."

"That's not Ahsoka," Kenobi said quietly, bowing his head. "I can sense your bewilderment, young one; but you must believe me when I say that is not her. You know it's not."

He found that once he looked at her, he could not turn away. She… well, **_it_**… looked so much like his Snips, especially when he thought back to when she had been possessed by the Son on Mortis. Her body had been taken over by MAV, yes; but surely she was still in there, somewhere, right? She couldn't completely be gone, she'd been too feisty to let something like a virus wipe her out for good. There was hope for her, wasn't there? Isn't that what Obi-Wan was always telling him: not to give up hope? Keep praying to the Force that there was some kind of light at the end of this tragic tunnel?

The Ahsoka-thing snapped at, growled, and slammed two bloodied, thin wrists against the growl. And she did it again, and again, and again, the thumping sound reverberating across the basement, drowning out the arguments between the Colony and the Forsaken. Over a dozen times, and each time her pupils narrowed to mere slits and her teeth dripped of black, rancid bile.

If Ahsoka truly was still in there, somewhere, she must've hated it. Would never want her Master to see her like that.

He pulled out of Obi-Wan's grip and shoved his way through the small crowd, taking the stairs two at a time as he made his way back to the floor level. Kolic moved to chase after him when Jason blocked his way. "Leave him be," he warned, frowning. "We'll explain everything down here." He then shot Obi-Wan a look. _"I've got things taken care of here. You go after him"_

_"Thank you, Jason"_ Nodding once towards the other man, Kenobi went off after his former apprentice, and once he was out of sight, Jason Dean turned to Kolic Kat.

"Alright then… all of us are going to go upstairs, leave Obi-Wan and Anakin **_alone_,** and we'll have a chat in order to clear up a few things here. Everyone's going to drop their weapons, because we're all friends here, right? Right. Now let's go."

**xXx (Half Hour Later, the Forsaken Penthouse) xXx**

"…so we have been using the captured biters as test specimens," Kolic finished, placing his elbows on the small table he and the others were seated around. The room they were in was large, resembling a conference room, and clean. The "pride of the Complex" Hadrian had told them when first entering the luxurious apartment. "We keep this place free of any of our survival junk, make it a sort of nirvana for us to retreat to when the going gets tough. A little 'happy place', if you know what I mean. Keeps us all sane."

Now, Hadrian was sitting next to Kolic and backing up the blue Twi'lek's story. "We tried not to think about who these things had once been," he added once silence fell upon the groups. "We didn't… I am sorry for the pain you and your friends must have gone through." He directs this statement at Jason.

"I hope now you understand that Anakin's actions were not meant to be hostile," he answered, running a hand through his tangled ginger hair. "Everything is happening too swiftly…" _The Force is a jumbled mess, everything clouded…_

"I'm not holding a grudge against the Jedi," the man who'd been choked, introduced as Han, spoke up. "Way I see things, we've got enough trouble with the mutated and dead; don't need to add problems with the healthy and living to the list, do we?"

"No, we do not," Derek replied, managing a weak half-smile. "Anything else that us groups need to discuss here?"

There was nothing of major importance at the moment; or at least, nothing that anyone wanted to address at midnight. So a majority of them left, wandering back to their sleeping bags and cots, whilst others mingled around, quietly conversing, whispering to one another and discreetly pointing.

Derek moved downstairs, alone, back to the basement; drawn there by instinct, he would explain to himself, like a bantha is drawn to water on Tatooine. Or maybe he'd just wanted to once again see the mutt that had once been Ahsoka Tano, the girl that Jason had said to be so brilliant and brave and so close to Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. "Like their little sister," Jason had said; and so it was because of that explanation that Derek was not surprised to see that he was not the only one to revisit the mutt.

He moved over to where the creature writhed in its tank, and lowered himself into a crouching position, side by side with Anakin. The Knight was sitting with his knees drawn to his chest, and his forehead pressed against the glass – right where the monster's claws were scratching in a violent attempt to get to the 'fresh meat' outside its tube. Derek watched the young Jedi, then the Ahsoka-thing, and then looked back to Anakin, before sighing, lowering his gaze. "Kid," he breathed, swiping off his cap and running a sweaty palm along the short spikes of his ebony, crew-cut hair. "Your pal Dean explained everything." He paused, frown deepening when the younger man remained unresponsive. "Kid, you know that's not really her, right? You know that this **_thing_ **in front of you… that it… it's… that's not her."

Now, there was a response: a soft exhale, eyes slowly closing. "I know," he whispered. "I know, and I… I accept that." He reopened his eyes and glanced at Derek. "That's what's bothering me the most though."

"How come?"

The Ahsoka-thing bent down on all fours and snapped its jaws at Anakin's face.

"Because I **_never_** accept things, not this easily," the Jedi stated, shaking his head. "Not once in my life have I ever been able to just see things with a broad view, and let things be. I never could. And now… and now my own Padawan has become this… this **_monster_**, this animal… and I hardly feel anything."

Derek's frown deepened, his brow furrowing together. "That doesn't make you guilty or anything, kid," he said. "You know that, right?"

Anakin was eye to eye with the Ahsoka-thing, and he subconsciously placed on hand on the glass, right over where several of her fingers were clawing at him. "Obi-Wan said the same thing," he replied quietly. "He's upstairs now, using the 'fresher and all, but that was the last thing he told me. 'Anakin, what happened with Ahsoka and all things concerning her are not your fault'. But he doesn't understand, and you don't understand… none of you understand… I can't remember hardly **_anything_** about Ahsoka. I can remember the basics – age, full name (sometimes), the fact that I was training her – but everything that **_matters_ **is gone. Her personality, the feeling that she was like my sister, all the fun times and jokes and lighthearted moments… they're all scattered and fragmented. That **_is_** my fault, because I'd been too kriffing weak to deal with everything myself without having all those memories ripped out of my mind. She must've meant the world to me, just like Obi-Wan and Padme…" He lowered his hand away from the Ahsoka-thing. "…and I can barely remember what she had looked like before she'd become **_this_**."

Derek stared, fidgeting with his gloves for a long moment while Anakin looked at his former apprentice and the former apprentice glared back with feral hunger.

Finally, after almost ten minutes ticked by and nothing else was said, the Yaazix-5 soldier got to his feet, and outstretched his hand. "C'mon, kid. Let's get out of here."

He didn't want to leave – that was obvious – but Anakin eventually reached out and allowed the older man to pull him to his feet. He allowed himself to be guided back to the stairwell. However, before he left the room completely, he had to turn around and look once more, eyes adopting a hot, glassy sheen as the Togruta mutt growled and attempted to lunge at him.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka," he whispered, clenching his fists at his side. "I'm so sorry."

Derek watched, silently, and then after giving the Knight a minute, reached and gently grasped his arm. "Kid… come on." He lead him out of the basement, and then gestured for the nearby Hadrian to lock the door.

**xXx**

"What are we supposed to do with her… or it?" military pilot Ax inquired, throwing a pali fruit into the air over and over as he lounged on his sleeping bag. "I mean, we aren't just going to leave that thing down there, are we?"

"The specimens provide us with priceless information," one of the Forsaken, a bearded, grey-haired human male, responded. "The experiments we have performed have told us much about the mutt's biological…"

"Did it give you a cure yet?" the black-haired man interrupted, finally catching his fruit and popping it into his mouth.

"Well, no…"

"Then they are a threat," he stated. "How can you people stand having that thing in the same building as where you sleep?"

"I assure you, sir," the cold-eyed Madeline replied. "They are quite secure in their glass tubes. They will not be escaping; and the pros of keeping them here far outweigh the cons."

"Shut your trap," Josh called over from the other side of the room. "Nobody is gonna do anything unless we **_all_** consent to it."

"Yeah man, and how about some compassion?" the one named Han added, the twenty-three-year-old shoving a stray lock of artificially-gray-streaked hair out of his steel eyes. "Did you not hear what your Jedi friend just said? The Anakin kid had trained that girl, loved that girl. What are you gonna do, go down there and shoot her in the face?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's exactly what I will do," Ax answered, sitting up straight and folding his arms. "If it keeps us all safe, both the Colony and the Forsaken, then yeah. I mean, I understand studying the mutts for a cure – that's the only reason **_I_** and the rest of my group are here in the first place – but in the same building? Why not anywhere else? A nearby building, **_something_**?"

"Do you know how hard it's been for us, fifteen people, to keep just this place safe?" Madeline snapped. "We haven't been specially issued by the kriffing Galactic Republic to help save the universe. We were left here. We were **_stranded_**, forgotten. We're here to survive, not mess around with chemistry and antidotes that do not exist."

Andre Lynn looked up from the old novel he'd been reading on a dying data-pad. "If you don't mind me asking," he spoke up. "Then why do you keep the mutts down there, if you are not interested in a cure?"

"I said that we are learning about the biters," the old man replied once more. "We don't have the equipment or the skills to do anything you fella's are doing… but we are surviving by learning what their weaknesses and strengths are."

"Yes," Madeline added beneath his breath. "Because we were left to do so by ourselves because of the damn Republic…"

"Excuse me," Inya stated, eyeing the other woman with a frown. "Is there something else bothering you…?"

"Yeah," she replied sharply, coldly, rolling her dark eyes. "I'm surrounded by all you ignorant, Republic angels, and I'm a proud Separatist."

That caught a bit of attention by a few, while others just smirked, or groaned, and completely ignored the fact. Han Solo grinned at those that surrounded him and went back to smoothing the creases out of his black vest, folded neatly on his lap.

"You're a blasted Sepie?" Nathan Fox exclaimed, jaw dropping and eyes widening when Madeline just smiled proudly, unfazed by the various reactions. "The hell?!" Ax repeated the other man's attitude, a stream of profanities coming from his lips.

"Kriff it all, everyone, calm down!" someone, a Forsaken member in the back of the room, called out. "Politics are a thing of the past! No need to get heated!"

Ax sputtered, all riled up now. "But she's a blasted Sepie! How many more of ya clanker-hugging-idiots are in this room!"

"Force-damn it, Ax, sit the hell down!" blonde-haired Josh shouted out, moving over and shoving his teammate back down into a sitting position. He turned to several red-faced Forsaken members. "I'm so sorry, friends, he didn't mean that, he's just a big talker."

Han laughed. "Ah, so a scruffy-looking-nerf-herder, eh?" he teased. "Yeah, we've seen plenty of those, before and after the biters started popping up. He'll fit into this miserable reality just fine."

The tension remained in the atmosphere long after Derek, Jason, Kolic, Anakin, and Obi-Wan entered the room and the lights went out. Jason took watch, as he usually volunteered to do – and his soft voice sneaked across the room as he murmured into his comlink. Kolic too remained awake, as it had been decided one guard from each group would take shifts through the night. A safety protocol, it was explained.

Anakin lay in the far corner, and as expected, Obi-Wan was asleep across from him. The Master seemed younger when in slumber, the lines on his face fewer, his dark red hair smoothed back and tangled up, out of his eyes. Anakin watched him for quite a while, watching and counting the other man's breaths, comforted with the fact that though his wife was somewhere across the galaxy and Ahsoka was downstairs a savage beast, this man, his Master, was still there right next to him. Alive and breathing. Safe.

_I failed to save the galaxy, Master, _his thoughts wandered. _But I will not fail you. The Chosen One can still save **one **of the people in the galaxy that he wishes to protect. And I **will **protect you, Master._

Just then, he noticed that Jason's whispers had ceased; Anakin turned, and nearly jumped when he found that the older Knight had crept up beside him at some point. "Blast it, Jason," he hissed, flipping over onto his other side. "You **_trying _**to give me coronary?"

"Sorry," the other Jedi said sincerely, frowning. "You should be asleep."

"I'm fine," he replied, even as he smothered down a yawn. " I don't need you to worry over me. Obi-Wan's doing just a fine job at that – I don't need **_two_** mother hens hovering over me, thank you very much."

Jason almost managed a full smile; but it quickly faded as he glanced over to where Kolic was fiddling with his rifle. Concern drifted through the Force, and Anakin blinked sleepily in an attempt to clear his head. "Is everything alright?" he whispered.

He hated himself for not responding with a "yes" and minding his own business; but the nagging in the Force that kept biting him in the back of his mind prevented that. "Do you… do you sense anything amiss?" he asked slowly, tightening his grip on his long-range blaster.

Anakin propped himself up on one elbow, furrowing his brow, but Jason motioned for him to lay back down. "What do you mean?" he questioned, and when Jason told him to just listen to the Force, he did.

At first, he really couldn't feel anything but his own inner turmoil and confusion and the danger screaming at him from outside the building where mutts swarmed the streets below. Then, for just an instant, he received a flash warning; then it disappeared as quickly as it had come. Strange. How had he not noticed the irregularity earlier? He was the kriffing Chosen One! He supposed Ahsoka… what **_had_** been Ahsoka… had been quite a distraction. Yet he still mentally rebuked himself, the dark hole in his chest painfully growing. What good did his unnatural connection to the Force do if he was too ignorant to listen to it? "I hadn't felt that earlier," he confessed guiltily. "It's… weird."

"Don't blame yourself, Anakin," Jason whispered, sighing. "And yes, it is strange. I'm not sure what to do with it yet, do you?"

"No, I don't."

They remained in silence for a few minutes, Anakin slowly finding his eyelids unwittingly closing while Jason stared hard at Kolic, trying not to be obvious.

Finally, the younger of the pair spoke up. "Do you think we can trust these people, Jason?"

The redhead looked down at the young man. How often had Anakin Skywalker, general of the Clone War, so openly ask for advice, without pretending to be all macho or willingly allowing himself to sound so young and vulnerable? Not once, in Jason's mind, and his earlier reply of "listen to your instincts and the Force" faded on his lips. _Even though I have my worries of these people. I'd overheard them earlier – they have no doctor, no scientist among them – so how **had **they studied the mutts safely? Something is off with them, I can feel it. And I know you can too – you're just so… afraid, I guess… to think that when we've finally found allies, they could be liars. That they could be dangerous. I don't blame you for wanting to turn a blind eye, Anakin._

He **_didn't_** blame him, and he understood. So that's why, instead of telling Anakin to follow the Force and find something he obviously did not want to find, he said, "Don't worry about it. Just get to sleep now, alright?" and watched as Anakin actually obeyed and closed his eyes. Confirming the Knight had been more exhausted than he'd let on – the events of the day no doubt had caused that – Jason waited until Anakin's Force-presence became muted and quiet before moving back to his original position. Kolic gave him a nod, and he returned it, picking back up the comlink he'd placed aside. Turning away from the Twi'lek, he whispered into it so that no one else awake could overhear what he was saying.

_/..:::SYSTEM MESSAGE:::TRANSMISSION RESUMED:::../_

_I suppose I'm going to have to end this log on a sour note – I am worried. So, so worried. I am a Jedi. I shouldn't harbor feelings of anxiety or fear or any of those negative emotions; but I do now. I fear for Obi-Wan and Anakin, for the rest of the Colony. I fear that there really **is **no cure to this abomination that has taken over the galaxy. And I now fear that these new friends we have made, the Forsaken, are a threat to us all. I've always trusted in the Force, but now… I just cannot bring myself to believe that the warnings I am receiving are related to this new group. How can I tell for sure whether or not to trust these people? _

_Everything is just so complicated now. So corrupted with grief and anxiety and hopelessness. And what happened to Ahsoka… blast it. Ahsoka. How do we even begin to deal with this tragedy? I overheard what Ax was blabbering about earlier – are we going to kill her? I mean, she's a mutt. She could be suffering. But what's the point of finding this cure if we are not going to save those we care about? Anakin… he was already shattered by her death. Reopening old wounds for him…_

_Kriff._

_I… I am tired. And drained. I'll pick this back up tomorrow. _

_/..:::SYSTEM MESSAGE:::TRANSMISSION ENDED:::SHUTTING DOWN:::../_


	17. Catch Me When I Fall

Chapter 2: Catch Me When I Fall

* * *

><p>"We keep to our business, you keep to yours," Kolic Kat stated as he shoved a spoonful of freeze-dried eggs into his mouth. "We are on friendly terms with each other, but that does not mean we're all going to be moving in together. We will equally share aid, food, supplies, information… but personal boundaries shall not be crossed."<p>

"Fair enough," Derek replied, perched on the windowsill with the dawn light streaming on his face. "My team will be out of your hair within the hour, and everything will settle back down."

"What about 'em biters they got down there?" Ax spoke up around a mouthful of dry toast. "Just gonna let 'em sit there like blasted canaries in bird cages?"

As Kolic stiffened, Derek shot Ax a glare. "Yes, that's exactly what we do," he replied dryly. "Because how these people study the virus here has nothing to do with us. In fact, maybe we should get together our own mutts." He took a sip of dehydrated blue milk. "Look, we all saw what scientists have discovered so far on this disease, back on Naboo. MAV kills almost all of the brain, all the memories, all the personalities, all of **_everything_** except pure animal instinct. No pain sensors to stop them, and apparently, absolutely none of those midichlorian things that the Jedi can usually sense people with. They are nothing but animals, and animals are used for studying all the time."

"But what about animal intelligence?" Inya questioned, frowning. "I mean, sure, we used to use banthas all the time to study things; but never any of the more animal-like species such as the Wookies."

Han Solo, from the corner, pointed his plastic fork at her. "Oy! No bashing the Wookies."

"These things are not a species, Inya," Obi-Wan replied gently, ignoring Han. "They are mutants. Ravaged by the virus."

"Yeah, Inya, what the hell do you want us to do?" Ax scoffed. "Give 'em their own planet and say 'stay here, we'll send Republic officials to tax you every kriffing year?'"

"Just what are you trying to say, Colonist Ax?" Madeline inquired from the far section of the room, rifle swinging lazily on one shoulder.

"I don't see why he's trying to say anything on this subject," snapped Kolic hotly. "It's none of your Colony's business how we study the biters. I don't see why we're still talking about it."

Jason cleared his throat. "I think some of us have a say as to **_what_** mutts you use for the experiments," he said quietly. He shot a glance at Anakin, who was doing his best to block out the entire conversation as he picked at his breakfast.

"Oh, so that's what this is all about?" Madeline tensed, eyes narrowing. "You do realize that you yourself just said those things aren't what they used to be. Now, I'm sorry that your friend died, I'm sorry she's one of those things now, but there ain't **_nothing_** that we can do about that now. So please, let's not complicated this more than necessary." She turned back to her food, while Ax rolled his eyes. "As cold-hearted as a Sepie droid."

"Excuse me? What did you just say to me?"

"I'm just saying…"

"Don't you **_dare _**talk to me like that." A cold tone, warning, like ice. Deadly.

"I was just…!"

"ENOUGH!" Derek roared, slamming his empty now-empty plate down. "This will not be debated! It will not be discussed!" Irritated, the soldier turned to Kolic. "We won't be getting into your business. We won't be messing with at **_all _**if you don't want us to – but I **_will _**ask you to keep your people in line!" He shot a look at Madeline. "Show some damn respect, will ya? And all of you, including my own team, will you keep your kriffing wits about ya? Cut it out with the bickering and the arguing and the political **_nonsense_** you've all suddenly gained, and just calm down!"

The last two words hung in the air as silence fell upon the entire large group, a hot mixture of misery and shame and irritation and quiet, quiet terror. Derek gulped down the rest of his milk, just because he didn't want to simply sit there, and then looked around the room quickly; immediately he noticed two of the seats that had once been occupied were now empty. He pursed his lips, but didn't move or say anything.

Outside, in the hall, Anakin trailed after Obi-Wan silently as the older man guided him into a quiet corner, with no prying eyes and where enough daylight shone to frighten off any intimidating shadows. As soon as he was satisfied, the Master turned so that he was facing Anakin completely as they both sat down on two crates. The younger man immediately began scanning their surroundings, anxiety already begin to flash through his eyes; with two fingers, Obi-Wan gently reached over and turned Anakin's jaw until the two were locking gazes. "Look at me, Anakin," he said firmly. "Don't look around. Don't go searching out **_her_**. Just look at me. Look at me, and don't turn away."

The young man didn't protest; he held his mentor's soft, warm gaze, and had no desire to turn away. Even when he felt a dreadfully cold sensation tingle the back of his mind, he didn't look away. No matter how strong the urge to was. Because he knew, oh, he just knew, that as soon as his eyes left Obi-Wan's, that **_she _**would be standing there. Laughing. Mocking him. Smiling at him with fangs and bloody lips. She would be there to haunt him again, and so Anakin forced himself to just stared relentlessly into Obi-Wan's eyes, not even daring to blink. Obi-Wan chased the darkness and the demons away. Obi-Wan, as long as Anakin was completely focused on him, was a safe haven. And so Anakin stared, and Obi-Wan stared right back.

"I need to talk to you about something," the Master said quietly, not breaking the stare. "I know you don't want to discuss it, I know you don't want to think about it, but it has to be done. I'm talking to you about it because I believe you have a right to speak of it. Do you understand, Anakin?"

Yes. Obi-Wan was being cryptic, but Anakin wasn't stupid. Perhaps certifiably insane, and quickly losing whatever was left of his mind, but he wasn't stupid. He nodded his head.

"Anakin, I need to talk to you about Ahsoka…"

_No. No, no, no, no, no_. Automatically, his mental shields slammed down, making Obi-Wan wince slightly as his friend flinched. No. He didn't want to talk about the girl he'd loved as a sister, the girl he could barely remember now. No. He just wanted to pretend that this wasn't happening, that **_all _**of this wasn't happening, that this reality was all just some big joke. No. He didn't want to talk about her.

But Obi-Wan wasn't going to give up. "The Forsaken are currently using her to study," he continued, gripping Anakin's flesh wrist to steady him. "She's not dangerous at the moment; but Anakin, that's not really her. It's her body, but not **_Ahsoka_**. And we need to decide before we leave what we're going to do about this entire situation." A pause. "If you ask me to, Anakin, I will give the Forsaken permission to keep using her as a test subject. But it has to be for the right reasons. You have to say yes because you think she'll be helpful in finding a cure; **_not _**because you think it's still Ahsoka. **_Not _**because you want to believe that that thing can still be the girl you want it to be. Do you understand?"

No, not really. He was confused now, and his mind was fogging up, and his vision blurred for a second. Subconsciously, het let his eyelids slide closed, just for the briefest moment; and **_that _**was a mistake. Oh Force, it was a mistake. Because as soon as he did so, Death was there, grinning as she always was, her head floating around in the darkness. "Poor little Chosen One," she cooed, blinking away drops of black liquid from her eyes. "Poor, poor, little boy. Scared? Scared of the dark, little boy? Scared? You should be!"

She numbed all his other senses, so that Anakin didn't feel Obi-Wan grabbing his arms and shaking him until the older man knocked him against the wall, forcing his eyes opening and making Death disappear completely. "Anakin, look at me!" Obi-Wan called to him fiercely, face right in front of Anakin's as he held him tight. Now that he could see once more, he felt how painfully fast his heart was pounding, how quick and shallow his breaths had become. "**_Look at me_**," Obi-Wan continued to command. "Don't look away, don't close your eyes. Just look at me. I'm right here, Anakin. Look at me. Don't look away. Just look at me."

He looked at him, this time not pulling away. Obi-Wan… Obi-Wan rooted him down to the ground, down to where Death could not touch him. Obi-Wan had always caught him whenever he started to fall, physically such as whenever he jumped out of a speeder to chase a target, and mentally such as times like these. When he needed an **_anchor_**. Obi-Wan… Obi-Wan was safe, the noun 'safe', and Anakin finally just slipped completely into his Master's force presence, knowing he couldn't stay submerged in it for long lest he drain the man's energy, but just long enough so that the darkness left and he was surrounded by pure, familiar, beloved light. Obi-Wan immediately shrouded his former apprentice in his Force-signature, keeping him there, shielded, for ten minutes before Anakin finally came back to the present, blinking quickly.

They were still staring at each other, but Anakin no longer had the chills running up his spine, and he had calmed down to the point where Obi-Wan felt safe releasing his arms. "She can't hurt you if you don't let her," he whispered, and Anakin nodded numbly as they both shakily got to their feet.

As soon as they were both steady on their feet, Anakin lowered his head. "Let them study her," he said quietly, and Obi-Wan looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure?" the mentor questioned, and Anakin nodded numbly. "Yes."

"Why?"

A brief pause. "Cause I think she'd want to. She'd want to help out. I think. I know."

Obi-Wan smiled tightly at him before leading him back to the main room. "Okay. If you're sure," he whispered.

"I'm sure."

The rest of the Colony members were already packed when they returned. Obi-Wan felt Derek staring, and gave him a tiny nod of reassurance before helping Anakin get their bags and packs together. The Forsaken members watched them all closely with hawk eyes, and though feeling a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Obi-Wan couldn't blame them. He was still suspicious as well of them, and when he gazed at Anakin and Jason, he knew he wasn't the only one. He also saw Anakin resist the urge to go down and look at Ahsoka again; quietly, he advised the younger man not to, it would only make things worse, and Anakin obliged.

But they couldn't afford this right now, couldn't afford making enemies out of the **_living _**when they were fight the mutts; so before leaving, Obi-Wan shook Kolic's hand firmly before he and the rest of the Colony marched out the door. "Be careful," the Twi'lek called after them, a gleam in his eye. "And we wish to you, the best of luck. We'll be seeing each other soon. I know this."

In silence, the Colony left the Forsaken behind them.

**xXx**

How in the hell Standards managed to remain sealed tight was beyond anyone's guess. But it was. When they entered, guns drawn, tense and expecting the words, surprise came from each one of them as they realized there wasn't a single mutt in the building. There was still death in the air, though, a heavy, constant presence.

"We all need to start thinking straight again," Derek stated once everyone was back inside Central, once again seated on their lumps, still smelling strongly of decay and smoke. "We're unbalanced right now, and that's dangerous. We came here to find a cure, and damn it, we're gonna find a blasted cure. We need to start prioritizing, start strategizing, and start working on this thing already. We've been here a week just making home renovations. We need to get our asses in gear."

"I've got most of the lab gear given to us," Lynn said. "I'll start setting stuff up downstairs in one of the lower levels. I took a look around the Forsaken system; it looked reasonable. If it's decided that its safe, maybe some of them could come here and give me a hand. We need all the help we can get."

"We'll talk about them too," Derek replied. "Do we trust 'em, how much do we trust 'em, how far are we willing to let them go into our mission and our lives… we need to discuss each one of these aspects, thoroughly and seriously. **_And_**…" He shot Ax a dark look. "…if anyone brings up a subject so stupid as politics again, there'll be consequences. I brought with me here **_soldiers_**; if I'd **_wanted _**politicians, I would've **_gotten _**them. We need to establish some sort of disciplinary system, and we gotta start it now. Organizing – that's our first step into all this."

"Everyone listen up," Nathan said with a half-smile. "Den mommy's ready to rock n roll!"

"Damn straight."

To sit down and talk, without guns and without mutts screeching in their ears, suddenly felt unusual to everyone. Strange and unfamiliar. Though Derek's words were true, most everyone remained sullen and silent, their thoughts too scattered to be brought together into solid points or arguments. No one protested as Derek took charge, nor when it became obvious that Obi-Wan was second-in-command, or when it was decided that teaming up with the Forsaken was the best way to go about things. They needed the help, they needed the supplies; they'd already given them shelter and food, and Obi-Wan had done a mind search on Hadrian. "This is a gift to us, people," Derek said firmly. "Let's not blow it and become hostile."

"What about their studying methods, though?" Lynn asked. "Are we gonna let them keep doing that?"

_Ugh_. "Already told you all before, we're not gonna just march into their headquarters and start giving them rules. They can do whatever they want, long as its within reason."

"They admitted to murdering an entire group of people."

"They admitted to putting down a bunch of cannibalistic **_animals_**, that's what they did," Derek corrected harshly. "I'm not gonna file charges against them. Are you?"

"This could be a chance," Inya spoke up, smoothing back a tangle of her thick black hair. "This is an opportunity for us, to gain allies, to get help in our mission."

"We hardly know them," Josh piped up quietly, twisting his lips in thought.

"Which is why," Obi-Wan replied. "I've decided that we'll take one or two of them along with a small group to go check out some of the nearer stores. We need more food than just what they offered us; not only will we see them in action against the mutts, but we can get a better layout of the nearby area as well."

Derek nodded slowly, smoothing down his dark, quickly growing whiskers. "Good. You got a team selected yet?"

Obi-Wan didn't need to look at the owner of the sharp glare being sent his way to know who it belonged to. "Anakin," he said immediately, feeling his friend relax through the Force. "Nathan. And… Ax." He chose the last name carefully, only choosing the rather brash military pilot because he had to be sure he could work in symmetry with the Forsaken. "The rest can stay here and begin setting stuff up. Alright with you, Derek?"

"Sure, ain't got no problem with that."

"Good. Then let us officially begin this mission."

**xXx**

"Keep in formation!" Obi-Wan hollered above the noise of hatchets, lightsabers, and knives impaling mutts. This time, no one dared use a blaster lest the noise attract any unwanted attention; while less reassuring than a gun, it felt good for the Jedi to feel his lightsaber heavy in his hands, to swing the blue blade and **_know _**for sure that it would hit its target. The sensation felt even stronger as he took a glance to his right, and spotted Anakin hack two mutts down at once, the young man's eyes afire as he went through the familiar motions of battle with his mentor, back to back, side by side. Yes. This was familiar, this he could handle. Confident, Obi-Wan used the Force to push several crates atop more of the attacking creatures, and repeated once more, "Stay in formation!"

Nathan and Ax slipped closer to each other at the reminder, while Han Solo and the woman who'd let them into the Forsaken headquarters, the one with the various tattoos, slipped back so that they were next to the Jedi. "Actually expected more to be honest," the woman, Natasha, stated as she kicked back a mutt and stabbed it in the head. "This is **_easy _**compared to the herds we run into while on supply runs; you guys must be good luck or something."

"It's all part of my charm, dearie," Nathan smirked as he decapitated one of the monsters.

It wasn't long before the small street they had entered was cleared, and then two large stores, with broken windows and smashed merchandise, were available to them. "Good work," Obi-Wan praised as he swept a copper lock of hair off his damp forehead. The thunderstorm from last night had long since vanished, replaced once my by the brutal, scorching sun. He shared a look with Anakin, pleased to see that the boy's eyes were clear from adrenaline and no longer holding that terrified gleam that they'd adopted lately. _Good_. "We should start scavenging now," he went on. "Natasha, you can come with me and Ax. Anakin, you go with Han and Josh and check out the second store. You've all got forty five minutes, then we'll meet up back here. If the streets get flooded, stay indoors. If you have to run, head back to Standards and we'll catch up to each other there. Understand?"

Anakin nodded, reluctant to leave but knowing splitting up to clear the two stores was the sensible thing to do. Besides, the cold sensation in the back of his mind had melted away earlier, and had yet to return; using his lightsaber once more seemed to secure his temporary sense of poise, and quickly he signaled for Josh and Han to follow him.

It was a trashed dump with barely any preserved food left in the aisles and all the supplies strewn across the floor, half soiled and broken. "Food's our main objective," Anakin told the others as they switched on flashlights – the yellow sunlight failed to reach any farther into the building than the direct front of it. "See anything else worth taking, grab it – we can all divide the stuff up between our groups once we're back in a safe zone."

"Sounds good, kid. I already got my eyes set on some pretty toys over there." Solo pointed to where several gears and other mechanic parts were piled into one corner of the store. The man made a beeline for it, while Josh rolled his eyes and said, "I'll go start looking for the food."

Anakin trailed after Han, scooping up a few dented cans and sealed bags of grains as he walked towards where the older man was shifting through various piles of scrap and random objects. He noticed several speeder parts being dropped into the Wookie-lover's basket, and the corner of his lip twitched upward into an almost-smile as he knelt beside him.

Han shot him a look and smirked, winking. "I love me my ship parts," he remarked. "Not even the dang apocalypse can take **_that _**away from me."

"We've already scoured all these nearby areas for anything that will help repair a ship," Anakin said miserably. "It's like everyone cleared anything useful out and burned it before the evac." A pause. "And I think even if we did manage, somehow, to build a ship, most of us wouldn't leave. We swore we wouldn't go back to Naboo till we had a cure – safest way to keep anyone else alive from turning."

"Hm." Solo shoved a bunch of screws into his pockets. "Mostly for tinkering what I get. Already tried the whole build-a-ship thing months ago. Every ship with a hyperdrive was taken during the evac, so… yeah. Y' know, I'm not even Coruscanti. I'm from kriffing, Correlia."

Anakin was only half listening, eyes watching the shadow of a passing mutt go past the window; once it was out of sight, having wandered off, he turned to Han and gave him a shaky half-smile. "Good to know you've got an interest in engineering," he said. "Could come in handy."

"You into 'em yourself?"

"Kinda… yeah, yeah I am."

"Sweet. If I ever…"

"RUN!" Josh's voice cut out any conversation, shattering any stretch of calm and filling in the cracks with that raw panic Anakin hated so much; the raw panic that suddenly flooded his mind, as it usually did now. The feeling amplified when Josh came tearing down the main isles, pursued by hungry screeches and all too familiar growls. "RUN! DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?! RUN! **_RUN_**!"

Immediately, Han and Anakin were on their feet, weapons drawn, as about twenty mutts came charging down various aisles, snarling and snapping their jaws. "Oh, shit." They took off after Josh's fleeing frame, the store too much of an enclosed space to fight well in, the streets better though not by much because of all the bodies and trash that littered the ground. As soon as he leapt through the broken window, Anakin ignited his saber and spun around to gut three mutts that leapt after him. They slid to the ground unceremoniously, just as Obi-Wan, Natasha, and Nathan came running at them, weapons drawn. "Anakin!"

"Master!"

"I can see more coming round the bend, whole lot of them!" Nathan called out. "They're gonna swarm this place soon, we gotta get back before they cut off our route back to the hospital!"

They ran; because as soon as the small ocean of mutts came round the corner, showing themselves to the small group of survivors, panic climbed up a scale. "MOVE, NOW!" Obi-Wan hollered, and everyone forced their way forward as fast as their legs could carry them without tripping. They should at least be **_somehow_** used to this by now, shouldn't they? At least a bit? But no, terror still came with the desperate chase as strong as ever. "FASTER!" Nathan shouted. "WE WON'T MAKE IT!"

They were closing in quickly, not a tightly packed herd which would've been more dangerous, but several mutts spread out so that there was no way around them. The gap between them and Standards was quickly closing up, and with shallow breaths , the group threw themselves onto the speeder used a step stool to get to the door they'd been using to get in and out of Standards. Obi-Wan used the Force to throw open the door, and everyone tumbled in at once, Anakin locked it as soon as they were all inside.

They laid in semi darkness for several minutes, panting and wheezing on top of each other, before Han Solo let out a loud laugh. "Well…! Wasn't that fun?"

**xXx**

Night fell. Han Solo and Natasha returned to the Forsaken with a little cart full of supplies, the sight of it seeming almost like some sort of pact between the two groups. Lynn and Inya showed off the little bit they'd worked on the lab, and Derek took the first watch, in order to keep an eye on all the mutts that had filled the alleyways after the earlier excitement. A strange buzzing sensation filled the atmosphere; but then again, it wasn't as if calm and serenity was expected to rule the air now, was it?

Anakin took watch at midnight, the Knight struggling to stay focused on his task, his mind subconsciously begging for Death not to make an appearance tonight. He spent most of the time just staring at Obi-Wan, trying to remember the pre-apocalypse galaxy where the worlds' greatest fears were an old man in a fancy brown cloak and his little army of tin soldiers. Tried to ignore the groans outside, and the shadows all around, and the fact that fear was still clawing painfully at his chest every time he took a breath. _Don't think about it. Don't acknowledge it, don't give into it, and maybe it will go away._

When the little thump outside Central's door came, he should've believed it was just the building setting, or his own imagination. He shouldn't have jumped to his feet, heart pounding, eyes racing at such a trivial noise. He shouldn't have snuck outside the room to investigate something his overactive imagination had crafted, and he should've, for Force's sake, brought his **_kriffing gun_**. Maybe it was exhaustion, or fear, or doubt, or a little bit of each; but Anakin went ahead and did all of the above-mentioned things, and as soon as he stepped outside of Central, he regretted it.

As soon as his eyes adjusted to the pitch black darkness in the hall, he took a step back and felt his jaw grow slack as he saw the figure ahead of him start to approach. "Wait…" he breathed. "How did you get in here, what do you wa…?"

He didn't finish the question. Strong hands wrapped around his neck and mouth, appearing out of the shadows; before he even had a **_chance _**to fight them off, Anakin felt something cold and sharp sink into his neck, in the soft flesh just below his jaw. His vision blurred – well, more than it already was – his mind went blank, and into the arms of his captors, he fell unconscious.


	18. Play, Play, Play

**A/N: well. look who has risen from the dead. all the chapter prior to this date (2/2/2016) have been edited for spelling mistakes, a few technicalities, grammar, and format - for a review, I'd suggest skimming/reading those over again! Unnecessary though. I've rediscovered this fiction and hopefully can get back in the game at a regular pace so welcome back to _Lethal Outbreak_!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Play, Play, Play<p>

* * *

><p>"It's all just a game, you see…?"<p>

The voice was blurry, but seemed to knife its way through the groggy darkness of unconsciousness like a surgeon's scalpel through his study subject. Vague but defined.

"…and you… oh, **_you'll _**make such a magnificent player. You'll see. You're a fighter, and we've never had the honors of having a **_Jedi _**attend our games. You should **_feel _**honored, young Jedi. This is quite a big deal to all of us…"

_Game. What game? What's going on? _He fought, tried forcing his way to consciousness. It was taking an agonizingly slow time.

"…long as you obey the rules, you really do stand quite a good chance. If I could bet, I'd bet on you, young Jedi. Unfortunately, I cannot bet; they're my own games after all. But still… I have confidence in you."

A hand was placed on his forehead, a gesture that mocked true friendship and concern. With that sensation he became aware of the feeling of his hands bound tight behind his back, and the cold dampness all around. He was lying down, on the floor it seemed. But where? He tried to stretch out through the Force… but no. It was impossible. _A Force-dampener_. Perhaps on the cuffs that bit into his good wrist and immobilized his mechanical one. Or an injection. Either way, the Force was lost to him for now.

The hand pat the side of his face, and then slid away.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of mumbles and darkness and a severe lacking in the Force, Anakin managed to open his eyes. It was all blackness even then, except for a slit of light beneath what appeared to be a cell door, heavy metal, most likely locked. With that little light he could see the form of a man sitting there nearby, still talking to himself; or to the unconscious Anakin, it appeared.

"A game… oh, it's been so long since we've had one. Not many people left, you know? This must be a sign… this is why you were brought back here, Jedi, because oh, you were brought back. By whatever deity is out there, you were brought back here, to keep me and my friends sane. Entertained. To keep us fighting and surviving. To keep us **_playing_**… play, play, play…"

Anakin blinked groggily, trying to focus on the darkened figure nearby, trying to sense him, trying to get a grasp on who he was. He needn't try; the man then leaned forward, and the Twi'lek smiled at him. Purple eyes stared hard, cold, and **_psychotic_**.

And Kolic Kat chuckled as he pat the Jedi's face once more.

"So thank you for that, young Jedi. Thank you, for your sacrifice."

The door suddenly swung open; the light – white, flashing, artificial – stung Anakin's eyes and he drew back instinctively, hands straining against the chains to cover and shield his face. His eyes must've had shut, had to, because when he felt two pairs of strong hands grab his shoulders there was only blackness once more in his vision; the Jedi lashed out. As he was brought to his feet his head snapped back and cracked against the nose of one of the men holding him; he took pleasure in hearing the man cry out, and feeling something wet and warm spurt against the back of his head.

The blow to the side of his was decently less-enjoyable, and left Anakin reeling as he was dragged out of the cell.

"Take him to be prepared," he could hear Kolic order his men.

"Procedure choice?" inquired a female voice, not belonging to either of the one's holding him and pulling him down a hallway it seemed. So there were three altogether. Anakin recognized the voice. The pregnant woman from the Forsaken that Lynn had been treating not long ago.

_Back-stabbing sleemos. _

A pause; Kolic was considering his options. "Three day prep," the Twi'lek decided, a smirk audible in his voice. "That should give us plenty of time."

"And if his friends come looking for him?" asked one of the men.

"We play the game," replied Kolic. "No different. We're concerned, we offer to give as many resources and men to a search as possible. We offer worries and we offer **_help _**and then…."

The man's voice had lowered, so Anakin couldn't hear the rest of his words. All he could make out was a symphony of laughter that rose up from the small group, and then nothing but darkness as his exhausted mind fell back into unconsciousness.

**xXx DATE: 5/14/45876 ((the Colony)) xXx**

"DO I **_LOOK _**LIKE I KRIFFING CARE IF YOU ALREADY CHECKED IT?! CHECK IT AGAIN!"

It was chaos.

In the midst of the frantic searching and shouting that had exploded throughout Central and the rest of Standards, was Derek, barking out orders in full-blown general mode; behind him, Obi-Wan Kenobi held the same emotions only contained beneath a well-experienced, blank and steady mask that only showed a few signs of weariness, and 'wear-and-tear', to betray his true state of mind and body.

The main question that ravaged the group and sent them into upheaval was a question centered around the disappearance of one of their own.

_Where is Anakin_?

The young Knight was last seen taking his place on guard for the night – he failed to awaken any of the others for guard duty. When Derek awoke he opened his eyes to no guard, no Anakin Skywalker, and no idea what had happened in the darkness of the night.

It was, indeed, **_chaos_**.

"I've checked the basement five damn times!" Ax roared back in response to Derek's heated shout. "He isn't down there, Derek! He isn't anywhere in this whole blasted building!"

"CHECK AGAIN!" returned the soldier angrily. "Pull apart every nook and cranny in this hospital! I ain't sending men out into that hellhole until I know for certain he ain't here!"

Ax cursed violently, shoving a chair out of the way so it crashed against one of the walls as he stormed over to the other man. "Kid's probably at the Forsaken's place cryin' over that Togruta!" he roared. "He ain't **_here_**, Derek!"

"**_I'm not sending ANYONE out there until I know for sure_**!"

It was such a fragile system, the Colony, already so tightly-packed together by stress and fear and a desperate fight for survival that the brief absence of even **_one _**member sent the entire group spiraling down into the Nine Correlian Hells. Obi-Wan remained silent behind Derek and, for once, he did not move to stop the shouting, or the arguing, or the desperate search. The Master had noticed it immediately when he awoke; the sudden departure of Anakin's Force-signature. But no, he wasn't… Anakin wasn't **_dead_**. He'd know if he was **_dead_**, of course he would. No, this was something else. Perhaps the demon, Death, playing another game with his friend, or there had to be another reason.

Of course, one very **_possible _**reason stood out like an ink stain on white cloth: the Forsaken.

It was in everyone's heads, and everyone knew it. It was why Obi-Wan resisted his own urge to run down the few blocks that separated him and the other survivors, and interrogate them one by one, why he allowed Derek to keep searching the building. It was because he knew what Derek was doing. If they went out there now, it would be hostile havoc. Accusations would fly, perhaps lasers as well. Derek was trying to keep anyone from heading over there until they'd calmed down enough to talk to the Forsaken with a clear head.

It was agonizingly painful, the wait, but necessary.

Inya paced the rooftop of Standards, a hot wind blowing her mess of ebony hair around her face as she hugged her body and moved back and forth, back and forth, from one end to another. Jason watched her for several minutes silently, before sighing and walking over. "We're gonna find him," he said quietly. "We're gonna find him and everything is gonna be just fine."

Inya smiled bitterly, stopping her movements and then staring out at the desolate Coruscant landscape, scorching breeze blowing through once more. "Don't pretend, Jason," she replied simply. "Don't do that thing."

"What thing?"

"That **_Jedi thing_**," she stated dryly. "Where you pretend you're not scared, or worried, or that your just so **_confident _**that everything **_will _**be fine. Anakin is **_missing_**; and people in this small of a group in the middle of hell don't just disappear unless something is very, very wrong."

Jason pursed his lips, and stuck his hands into the pockets of his camo trousers, not saying anything.

A beat of silence, then she took in a slow breath. "When is Derek going to send out men to the Forsaken?"

The Jedi Knight slowly walked over to the edge of the rooftop, and after his eyes trained over the area briefly, he pointed a finger quietly at the sight of three individuals jogging out of Standards doorways and down the street.

"Now."

**xXx ((the Forsaken)) xXx**

"How is he?" Kolic's voice was as smooth as ever. Calm. A poisonous melody.

"Stable. He reacted stronger than we anticipated to the Force-suppressants but his body seems to be adapting well enough. We'll be on schedule with his preparations."

Even though he was lying on his back, and his eyes were closed (he couldn't seem to open them no matter how hard he tried, Anakin could tell Kolic Kat was smiling widely. He felt his wrists held down to the cot he was on by binders, and the same with his ankles. He couldn't identify the woman talking with Kolic.

"So," the Twi'lek stated – Anakin could hear him pacing around. "Do you think the others will be causing any problems?"

"If you mean the players, then no, they're all as they should be," replied the woman. "If you mean some… possible problems within ourselves, then we've had a talking with them. They may see things our way."

"And if they do not?"

"If they do not, what are your orders."

Once more, the smile reappeared; Anakin had the sneaking feeling that he could be eternally blind and never forget that sight.

"Simple enough. They'll just have to play the game as well."

**xXx** **((At Forsaken Headquarters)) xXx**

"OPEN UP!"

It was Nathan Fox's voice that echoed through the alleyway, and his fist that banged repeatedly at the entryway of the Forsaken's Headquarters. Behind him, rifles out and blasting away a few straggling mutts that ran at them, Obi-Wan and Lynn remained crouched behind two dumpsters. "Cmon, Nathan, if they don't answer just bust the blasted door down!" called the doctor.

Nathan frowned, glancing back at Kenobi for confirmation.

Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder and met the man's gaze; then, after a moment, nodded grimly. "Take my place."

Nathan pulled out his blaster and ran to Obi-Wan's position while the Jedi himself ran towards the door. He hit it once more with his fist, the shaky steel clanging and screeching at the abuse. "Kat! Madeline! This is your last warning," the Negotiator called in a solemn tone. "We have an emergency and this unfortunately involves you as well. If you don't open this door we will force it open ourselves." The man then fell silent, and listened, using the Force to ignore the screeches of mutts and the screaming of the blasters and rifles.

Nothing. He didn't even sense any life forms come near.

That was it. With one single movement Obi-Wan's blaster was on the ground and the vibrant blue glow, accompanied by the hum of machinery, revealed the ignition of his lightsaber. The Jedi slammed the blade into the door all the way up to the hilt, and drove down hard. The locking mechanisms were melted and cut through, and with protest, the heavy portal slid upwards, opening up the door and allowing the Colony entrance. "Come on!" The rest of the mutts taken care of, Nathan and Lynn didn't hesitate to follow. They jogged through the doorway, and Nathan rammed the butt of his blaster into the control panel to make the door slide down again.

The hallway was desolate and completely dark except for the light at the end of the tunnel, the hospitality that the Colony had experienced upon their first visit nonexistent now. Obi-Wan made a few hand signals that everyone in the group was familiar with by now and Lynn and Nathan responded with nods. Obi-Wan, in return, turned and began to lead them down the hall, lightsaber still ignited and humming. The blue light sent dancing shadows across the walls.

Footfalls quiet and muffles, they inched closer and closer to the end of the hall towards the main meeting room of the Colony. To the tables lined with supplies they'd seen last, and the staircases and dead lifts; to the rows of lockers that they kept the ammo and food in; to the signs of civilized living that had seemed so welcoming to them during the initial ecstasy of finding other living, healthy beings. Once they were near enough, another hand signal conversation was made. Nathan crouched down and readied his rifle, and Lynn pulled out a small hand blaster.

One more signal.

Obi-Wan leaped out of the corner with his lightsaber as Lynn quickly came up behind the Jedi Master, the barking order of "Freeze!" echoing through the main room and reverberating through the air.

And all three men froze then in complete, utter, and total shock.

**xXx ((The Colony)) (One Hour Later) xXx**

Three knocks, heavy and slow; the signal that Obi-Wan, Lynn, and Nathan were back. Derek, of course, was the one that threw the door open upon the sound; the others in Central, and Jason and Inya sealing up the rest of the building. Standards was on lockdown until strategy could be formed.

As soon as the tired eyes of the soldier met the weary gaze of the Jedi, Derek knew something had gone wrong. "What?" he demanded, not even moving from the doorway to allow the trio to enter. "What happened?"

Nathan, who was running his hands through his hair, agitated, shook his head. "Nothin' man, damn nothin'…"

"Don't give me that kriffin' nothing crap, Fox…"

"No, Derek," Obi-Wan cut in with a tight expression. "Nathan is right, nothing happened. Nothing **_could _**happen."

Derek straightened, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited for the Jedi to elaborate.

Obi-Wan's gaze, if possible, turned even grayer.

"The Forsaken are gone."


End file.
